Potter/Glazer or Sculptor/Glazer

Ephraim Pottery is looking for a ceramic artist to join our collaborative art studio in Lake Mills, Wisconsin. At Ephraim Pottery we create wheel-thrown, hand-sculpted art pottery in the style of the early 20th Century Arts & Crafts Movement.  

Job Description:

We have an opening for a production potter or sculptor who is willing to be trained in production glazing with our custom glazes. Applicants must have an  understanding of clay and its associated techniques and properties, and a passion for working with clay. Applicants will be asked to replicate our in-house stoneware designs. 

Requirements:

• Experience with clay, especially wheel throwing or hand sculpting
• Efficiency with throwing or sculpting to dimensions given for production purposes
• Knowledge of clay, including firing and kiln practices, and familiarity with various technical aspects and types of clay
• Contribution to daily practice with basic studio cleaning and maintenance
• Ability to think on your feet, problem-solve, and be accountable
• Task and detail orientation
• Self-motivation, working independently and managing time to meet tight deadlines
• Ability to work well with other artists and communicate effectively in a collaborative setting

Additional skills a plus:

• Ability to contribute design ideas that fit into our collective style 
• Knowledge of glazes, including glaze setting and glaze application
• Basic ceramic studio equipment maintenance 

Job Type: Full-time

Salary: $30,000.00 to $40,000.00/year

Additional Compensation: Bonuses

Work Location: Lake Mills, Wisconsin

Benefits: Health insurance, paid time off, 401K, life insurance

Application process:

Apply by email at ephraim.marketing@gmail.com with the subject line noting: Potter/Sculptor Artist. Include a short biographical introduction of yourself, including how many years you have worked with clay and in what capacity, along with any other pertinent information. Additionally, please attach your resume and images of your clay work and/or production work. 

We are accepting applications through September 30th.

Read more about our sustainable employment model

Inspired by her visit to a local sunflower field along with the fresh garlic and basil in her weekly CSA (community supported agriculture) box, Leah created a sunflower pesto. It’s a perfect compliment to Ephraim’s tableware, simple and elegant!

This project truly began in the southeast of France where Leah brought her oldest daughter for a summer cultural exchange. In L’Isle-sur-la-Sorgue her family savored authentic Mediterranean food which moved Leah to make homemade pasta for her favorite pesto recipe back home.

Reunited after adventures abroad, Leah’s family enjoys a meal together. They love eating outside on beautiful Wisconsin summer nights.

This is a recent example of how we collaborate in our creative space–day-by-day, sometimes moment-by-moment.

Unexpected technical challenges and surprise personal interactions are frequenting our studio this May and June as we work through filling spring orders and finalizing our summer collection designs.

In between all the “unexpecteds,” Leah and Kevin proudly pressed forward to refine the glazing process and production timing for our new line of tableware–bowls, mugs, tumblers, and vases–that we call Ephraim Elemental.

It seemed appropriate that some of us present a collective toast to mark the day a week or so ago when we officially introduced this signature offering of functional tableware to the world at large.

Shipped from Indiana, a box of baby chicks arrived in Laura’s workspace this month. They charmed everyone who encountered them. By next spring, they will provide a steady stock of eggs as they join the current flock of four two-year-old hens and a pair of roosters now in residence around Laura’s farm.

Since first we met at the studio, the chickens are getting so big! Their fluff is now replaced with homely pin feathers, it’s kind of like an “awkward teenager phase.” Next, they will grow into a brood of beautiful, multicolored hens–some speckled, some black, some red, some brown, and all girls (fingers crossed)! Laura finds her feathered friends calming and fun to have around.

After unscheduled breakdowns, we are happy to report that two of our valued pieces of equipment at the studio, the glazing spray booth and the floor scrubber, are up and running smoothly. Alek has since returned to his throwing wheel where he experiences much less frustration.

Our new clay mixer is set up. Working with a clay mixer seems like a good idea–we are now able to reclaim clay lost to trimming, turning and sculpting. Reconstituting it not only allows us to be good stewards of the earth and our resources, but adding aging clay to our mix makes it more plastic and malleable when throwing on the wheel and sculpting.

With all this activity around us, we discipline ourselves to make time to continually explore new and evolving ideas together. We especially respect the part of the handmade process that takes place away from our hands and eyes, the part that takes place in the kiln overnight. It keeps us in a state of anticipation. Opening the kiln can be humbling or exhilarating, we simply never know which to expect. Stay tuned for what comes next…