#howiAMACO Insta Feature - Q&A with Avie Meadows

Avie Meadows

Instagram: @aviemeadows
Website: www.facebook.com/aviejoystudios

Save the drama for your llama! (Or your alpaca, technically.) If you're looking to add a dash of functional fun and playfulness to your home, look no further! We can't get enough of the gorgeous animals that Avie Meadows brings to life with her plates and platters. From alpacas to beetles to peacocks to pets, you can find a little bit of everything on her page!

How did you come to be interested in working with clay?

I love working with my hands and have always been a maker. In fact, my first attempt at college my minor was in art/ceramics. Though, art was a dream quickly forgotten as I pursued other goals and “real jobs”. It wasn’t until years later when I became a mother and started taking my kids to clay classes that I remembered how much I longed to be making my own creations - not just assisting with theirs. In 2014 I started taking a few local ceramic hand building classes and my life was transformed.

What inspires your work?

Becoming a mother has forced me to slow down and pay attention to things that I would never have noticed or appreciated before. For last 9 years I have been immersed in the imaginations of my kids. They are observant of the smallest details, the softest animals, the most vivid color combinations. They are fascinated by critters, rocket ships, birding, bicycling - the list could go on for miles. I frequently find myself contemplating life through their eyes and thus my work often reflects the things that appeal to the inner child in people.

What’s your favorite thing about clay?

My absolute favorite thing about clay is both its endless possibilities and the inherent challenges with each different form that I make. I also like that clay forces me to slow down with each step and really think through the process.

What has been the most challenging part of pursuing ceramics?

Hands down, the hardest part of pursuing this passion has been carving out time to work on a daily basis. Ideally, I’d love for this to be my job and allowing myself the time and space to make that a reality is quite difficult.

Which AMACO products do you always find yourself going back to? How do these products speak to your work?

I’m a color addict. As a young girl I had to have the BIG Crayola box of 96 crayons just so I could have every color. Now as an adult I have that same fixation with AMACO Velvet Underglaze colors - I probably own 80% of the colors available. I love how vivid the colors are and how I can mix and layer them to make my own custom colors. Just like painting with acrylics or oils. I couldn’t make any of my signature plates or platters without them!

You find a genie lamp and are granted three wishes: what are they?

I’d ask for the ability to pause time, hang on to a feeling, and unlimited kombucha.