Rachael DePauw, originally from St. Louis, Missouri, is an artist and educator who has run Rachael DePauw Pottery in New Orleans for over 10 years. She and her husband, William, create a variety of artwork such as dinnerware, decorative pieces, ceramic jewelry, and house number plaques. She has created pieces for Mignon Faget’s HIVE collection, been featured in Garden & Gun, and was recently awarded a 2021 grant from The Studio Potter. You can find Rachael DePauw Pottery for sale at various locations such as her home studio, The Historic New Orleans Collection, and at occasional southern craft festivals like Jazz and Heritage Festival. Rachael taught at Isidore Newman School from 2009-2019, and William currently teaches in the Art Department at Tulane University.

DePauw earned a Bachelor’s in Political Economy from Tulane University in 2007. She surprisingly discovered a passion for ceramics during her junior year while fulfilling a required arts credit. Following Hurricane Katrina in 2005, Newcomb College was merged into Tulane University. DePauw was one of the last students who was able to receive an official degree from the H. Sophie Newcomb Memorial College.

DePauw continues to be influenced by the aesthetic and philosophic concepts associated with New Orleans’ Newcomb Pottery tradition. Attempting to modernize the historic enterprise through a process called Sgraffito, she creates bold relief patterns and uses design motifs referencing Louisiana’s indigenous flora. On the pre-fired vessel, DePauw paints a thin layer of black, liquid clay before using a small tool to carve through the slip, revealing the white clay beneath. The linear and abstract patterns created reflect the South’s unique landscape and reference the blue and greenish wares of the Newcomb Pottery that was produced from 1895 to 1940.