Susan Arnhold sets up her supplies in the pottery studio at the Cheltenham Art Center. Arnhold has been crafting with clay for over 20 years.
Arnhold holds one of her signature mugs. When she first began, Arnhold mainly created functional pieces like mugs and bowls that were artistic but also could be used every day. She often gives them to friends and family, and says she doesn't mind if they get broken, because that means they've been used.
Arnhold stands next to a shelf of her most recent pottery. She has recently moved away from functional pieces to a new process of painting felt with porcelain and burning the felt away in the kiln, creating more fragile and less functional pieces.
This plate, made using the felt technique, is one of Arnhold's first pieces. She says she likes the felt process because she always ends up with something she wasn't expecting - like the curled edges of the piece above, which took a new shape after being fired in the kiln.
Arnhold explains the use of the wood kiln behind the Cheltenham Art Center. The process for using this kiln is more intense, requiring 24-hour attention to get it to the proper temperature, so potters at the Center use it once every few months.
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