Artist Spotlight: Dusty Pants Studio - Austin Coudriet & Sarah Anderson

About Austin & Sarah

Hey Sarah Anderson and Austin Coudriet here! We each started our ceramics journey in college - Austin enrolled in a sculpture degree, then quickly changed to ceramics after falling in love with the material itself and the energetic community. Sarah began as a ceramics major and then eventually switched to a sculpture degree to explore mixed mediums.

It has been their long term goal to create a space where artists can gather, create, and collaborate. Sarah and Austin are thrilled to announce the opening of their new studio space, Dusty Pants Studio which is on track to open fall of 2026!

DUSTY PANTS STUDIO

AMACO: What inspires your work or keeps you excited in the studio?

Austin: A true extrovert, Austin is energized by people he enjoys working in community spaces and alongside fellow artisans to keep ideas fresh and evolving. Austin is inspired by mid-century modern furniture, industrial architecture, and the way objects live within a home.

Sarah: Sarah loves the weird and unusual. Ever heard of Meow Wolf? That would be Sarah’s ideal home. Any movie with a Jim Henson puppet or a Tim Burnton style, she’s all in. Interior design, marketing, and creating new brands are all contemporary ways Sarah continues to play with the elements of art.

AMACO: What is your favorite AMACO product and why?

Austin & Sarah: Hands down, AMACO Velvet Underglazes is the AMACO product. Tasked with the impossible challenge of picking just one color each, Sarah’s got to stick with her beloved bright orange and Austin with his trusty medium blue. We love the velvet underglazes for their consistency, reliability, and their mix-ability. We can’t wait to line the shelves of Dusty Pants Studio with the Velvet Underglazes rainbow!

AMACO: Any advice you'd give to someone just starting out with clay?

Sarah: Don’t take yourself too seriously, and try the porcelain. Just try it!! Invest in yourself, your community, and being a good person. Fail more times than you’d like to, and be as stubborn as humanly possible if you want to succeed. At the end of the day, it’s just dirt. You’ll try again the next day, and you’ll learn from your mistakes. Be kind to yourself!

Austin: The biggest advice I could give someone just starting out in the ceramics field is to find a community, ceramics can be an incredibly frustrating material to work in and having a knowledgeable community around you can cure an infinite about of headaches and anxiety. Surround yourself with kind knowledgeable makers and you’ll learn and grow rapidly.