At the end of summer 2023, five internationally acclaimed ceramic artists gathered in one place—Anderson Ranch Arts Center—for what is believed to be the first time. Collectively, they represented more than four decades of influence on the Ranch’s ceramics program, as well as the future direction of the medium. From early August through the start of September, they taught or lectured, provided guidance or mentoring, and interacted informally with other artists and students.

Visiting artist Brad Miller, whose work is exhibited nationally and in museum collections, including at the Smithsonian, was previously ceramics director and then director of Anderson Ranch, where he built up the visiting artists program begun by his two predecessors. Miller gave a public lecture about bridging the gap between traditional and contemporary ceramics with Jolie Ngo, an up-and-coming artist who taught a workshop on 3D printing with clay. But the superstar of the group was Takashi Nakazato, a 13th-generation master potter from Karatsu, Japan, where he is recognized as a living national treasure.

As Nakazato moved around campus, he was greeted by friends old and new; students who recognized the master potter expressed eagerness to meet him or watch him work. In his 30-year relationship with the Ranch, he has filled many roles, including teaching workshops—influencing thousands of students and established ceramicists alike. Nakazato represents a “complete throughline with ceramics” at the Ranch, says Marketing and Communications Director Lindsy Fortier, and as “a huge voice in the ceramics community,” he spreads what he’s learned there throughout the world.

He’s also created a lot of work in his campus studio—approximately 10,000 pots, by Miller’s estimation. And while he’s too modest to acknowledge the influence he’s had on others, the octogenarian opens up more when discussing how the Ranch has shaped his work.

“The way I had been working before Anderson Ranch was, in a sense, boxed in—there’s a right way to do ceramics and firing in Japan,” says Nakazato, speaking through a translator. “I learned from Anderson Ranch that it doesn’t have to be one way or another, but there are much more wide-open ways of making ceramics. I gained a freedom in my practice.”

Certainly, Nakazato is known as having his own unique style, blending elements of his traditional heritage with techniques and approaches he’s learned during his travels and residencies. In a book published for a 2006 exhibition of Nakazato’s work, former Anderson Ranch ceramics director Doug Casebeer noted that his curiosity and constant eagerness to learn also made him a committed mentor to younger artists. “Artistic freedom has always been a hallmark of Takashi’s pottery career,” wrote Casebeer, who first invited Nakazato to Anderson Ranch after meeting him at an Aspen dinner party in 1994, and then helped ensure he could return regularly. “The Ranch has been his research and development studio, where, unbound by tradition, he can explore new opportunities.”

Nakazato says it’s hard to choose from the many people at Anderson Ranch who have influenced his practice. But he mentions a few, including Ralph Scala, another one of the five visiting ceramicists, who is a regular guest faculty member and former ceramics studio manager. Scala’s friendly demeanor and depth of knowledge helped him create various types of work over the years, Nakazato says. 

Repeating the idea of artistic freedom, Nakazato appreciates that Anderson Ranch is constantly facilitating the invention of new practices, “through learning from each other.”

Miller, who was involved in the early years of bringing in well-known artists, notes that, while the original purpose of the Ranch’s visiting artists and guest faculty program was to add legitimacy to the young arts center, it continued and grew because of its many benefits to all involved. 

“It was good for the students, good for the community (to get lectures and other public events), and good for fundraising—and I think that’s still true today,” he says. “It’s quite a stew.”

When Nakazato and other artists repeatedly return, it “showcases that a relationship with the Ranch can be a lifelong endeavor and that the ranch facilitates community that lasts for decades,” says Fortier. Making art “can be an independent and lonely endeavor, and the Ranch can be that throughline.” 
Ever since noted ceramic artist Paul Soldner started Anderson Ranch in 1966, ceramics—and innovation in the medium—has been a driving force. Historically, the Ranch’s role has been to “provide artists from all over access to unique perspectives and contemporary approaches to traditional processes and bring together communities in the spirit of sharing and learning,” says Betsy Alwin, a sculptor who is the Ranch’s visiting director of ceramics and expanded media. “The broader impact we see is that artists who come to the Ranch leave with inspiration, a stronger knowledge of themselves as artists and what they’re capable of, and, of course, a deeper connection to others in their field.” 

Summer 2024 Visiting Artists & Guest Faculty

Anderson Ranch welcomes another convergence of ceramic artists this summer, including:

Yutaka Kawahito, who worked at Anderson Ranch in 2009 and 2012, returns to teach a workshop on wheel throwing and the creative process. June 3–14

Matt Wedel, a potter from Ohio whose work is held in collections and museums internationally, will practice his craft in the Ranch’s clay studio as a visiting artist. June 3–15

Mixed-media sculptor and ceramic artist Trey Hill, who attended the Ranch’s family residency pilot program last fall, returns to teach a workshop focused on building with clay and steel. June 10–21

Art professor emeritus Chris Staley and ceramic and textile artist Ashlyn Pope will team-teach a workshop called “Cups, Stories and Empathy.” June 17–21

Potters Takuro and Hitomi Shibata, originally from Japan and now living in North Carolina, will lead a workshop focused on hand-building and coil-building pottery techniques. July 15–25

Digital fabrication and ceramic artist Audrey An, who is new to the Ranch, will teach a workshop on computer-aided clay design. Aug 5–16

First-time Ranch instructor Joanna Poag, whose work explores memory as it relates to line, color, and pattern, will teach a course focused on clay collage. Aug 26–Sept 6