Culled from Luxe’s inspiring artisan studio visits around the country, these uniquely crafted ceramics make for some very special presents.
Nadia Stieglitz
Look no further than the art of ceramics if you’re on the hunt for extraordinary pieces to make this season of gifting memorable. “Ceramics is a medium capable of exploring complex conceptual ideas,” Charleston-based artist Nadia Stieglitz explains. “These items are not simply decorative objects; they carry messages that can elevate an entire space.” Her own layered production process combines multiple hand-building techniques, beginning with fashioning her stoneware and earthenware forms around a bulbous object, and then contouring with slab molds and coils. A layer of watered-down clay is added in spontaneous patterns, and once the pieces are dry, Stieglitz embellishes them using the sgraffito, or scratched, method. These marks evoke a worldly beauty, referencing botanical or marine motifs and the resulting biomorphic silhouettes are utterly ethereal.
—Folasade Ologundudu
Copy: Excerpted From “Natural Instincts,” LUXE Southeast July/August 2023
Lindsey Wohlgemuth
If you happen to be following Era Ceramics on social media for a behind-the-scenes dive into artist Lindsey Wohlgemuth’s creative process, you may just get an early clue as to when the next collection is being released. Act on it quickly—Era Ceramics often sell out the moment a new drop is announced, due, no doubt, to both this intimate inside look and the fact that craft and care are visible in every piece. The homegrown family business—Wohlgemuth and her husband are partners—began with a kiln on a porch and a deep love for working with clay, and now creates bespoke earthen ceramics that adorn some of the top tables in Austin. “Different clay bodies have unique textures and colors,” Wohlgemuth notes. “It takes practice to get to know all the materials and make refinements.” The artist’s experimentation with pit firing, in which smoke and ash finish the clay, gives the wood-fired bowls, plates and vases an amazing organic quality.
—Laura Fenton
Copy: Excerpted From “Breaking The Mold,” LUXE Texas September/October 2024
Cody Hoyt
The geometric and floral inlay ceramic creations of Brooklyn artist Cody Hoyt all share the mark of his unique style and aesthetic, with much of their design, in a way, left up to chance. “There’s an incidental quality to them that you can’t force by hand,” Hoyt says. Almost all his works begin as a slab of clay which Hoyt inlays (or rather, “mashes”) with gestural forms. In other cases, he extrudes shapes and assembles them together before slicing cross sections with wire. The resulting thin tiles become the building blocks for a vessel or mosaic. As Hoyt continues to hone his craft, his pieces are growing in creativity, with varying inspirations like Japanese Nerikomi pottery or the hypnotic optical art of Josef Albers, but he is careful not to coerce anything to fit his will. As Hoyt puts it: “I’m trying to figure out ways to coexist within the desires and inclinations of the material.”
—Susannah Gruder
Copy: Excerpted From “Happy Accidents,” LUXE Greater New York May/June 2023
Liadain Warwick Smith
Ceramist Liadain Warwick Smith takes a thoughtful and considered approach to her delicate heirloom objects, which are simultaneously rustic and sophisticated. “I try to make each piece completely unique and individual while repeating certain details,” the artist shares. She begins by slipping, scoring, pinching and building up her trademark red clay forms before beginning the long process of drying, firing and glazing each item. Known for her white pieces in which deep, red-brown clay tones peek through perfectly imperfect glazes, she’s recently begun experimenting with black finishes that, while different, still feel elegant and regal. Warwick Smith sees her wares as utilitarian: vases to be filled with flowers from the garden and plates on which to enjoy meals surrounded by loved ones—simple experiences elevated by the beauty of each work.
—Shannon Sharpe
Copy: Excerpted From “Slow Burn,” LUXE Hamptons July/August 2024