An American In Japan | Michael Millan | Episode 1192

Michael Millam is back! Way back in episode 247 Michael had been a guest on the show. At the time Michael was a high school teacher here in the United States. But much has changed since then. Michael has since moved to Japan to be teacher there. In this episode of The Potters Cast we catch up with Michael to get the whole story on this new venture. https://ThePottersCast.com/1192

Deanna Wong, creator of Dwadlings Art, is a Chinese-American non-binary artist creating functional ceramics and large-scale murals featuring wiggly critter-filled illustrations. At an even five foot tall, Deanna could be described as "just a little guy" and also a "very long yardstick." https://ThePottersCast.com/1191  

HYUNUKO is the studio of ceramicist Henry Kim, blending function and fantasy through sculptural furniture, lighting, and vessels. Formerly Head of Ceramics at The Haas Brothers, Kim draws on themes of nature, sci-fi, and escapism to create narrative-driven works that blur the boundaries between fine art and design. https://ThePottersCast.com/1190

Jurga Hoffman is a potter living in Vancouver, Canada. Jurga is a self-taught artist with a deep appreciation for color, texture, and detail. Her background in drawing rarely lets her leave surfaces untouched - she loves to carve, draw, and paint nature and animal inspired designs on her pots. https://ThePottersCast.com/1189

Robert Hunter is a Scottish ceramicist based in Glasgow, soon to be relocating to Yorkshire in 2026. Robert's work is inspired by themes of time and place, using natural materials such as wild clay and his own developed ash glazes. Each piece reflects both his stage in life and the landscape around him. Having studied in Aberdeen, worked and learned in Mallorca, Spain, and completed a recent two-month residency at Starworks in North Carolina, Robert has travelled widely and gained insight from many great potters. https://ThePottersCast.com/1188

Ashley and Caleb Morford are the partners in clay behind ClayMateOfTheYear. Ashley is the start of the process in that she is the one who makes the work. Caleb, who has a tatoo practice, then steps in and adds his creative flare as the surface with a nod to his tattoo designs.  https://ThePottersCast.com/1187

Rebecca Gerendasy has been a creator all her life, and clay is her first love. Majoring in sculpture in college, she later built a career as a video journalist and filmmaker before returning to clay full-time. Focused on hand-building, Rebecca draws inspiration from her surroundings and human nature, looking for the magic in the everyday and bringing it to life with expression, color and surface illustration in her figurative and functional ceramics. https://ThePottersCast.com/1186

Originally from New Jersey, Marianne Robilotta moved to Montana in 2015 to pursue pottery full-time. Although she received a degree in Ceramics, Marianne considers herself self-taught. Focusing on production, Marianne strives to produce large quantities of consistent pieces while retaining the craftsmanship and artistic expression of a studio potter. https://ThePottersCast.com/1185

Jenny Palmer is a Vancouver-born artist and potter based on Vancouver Island. An Emily Carr graduate (BFA, 2008) in Photography, Jenny spent years working her way through breweries and children's art studios before running a home-based childcare program. In 2019, she discovered clay and began exploring pottery as a creative outlet in the evenings. When Covid hit, the world slowed down and that pause helped push Jenny to grow her late night pottery hobby into something bigger. Working from her cozy home studio, she creates vibrant, textural, functional stoneware that brings color, warmth, and joy to everyday life, reflecting her love of process, play, and the beauty of handmade craft. https://ThePottersCast.com/1184

Laura Williams is a UK born, US based ceramic artist whose practice explores material, narrative, color, and play. Laura studied ceramics at the University of Wisconsin - Madison and has worked as a ceramics educator for the last decade. Laura co-founded the Chicago Ceramics Crawl after teaching at many of Chicago's community art centers. The tour aims to connect and celebrate the city's clay community. Laura is interested in the way clay records our every choice... throw lines, finger prints, brush strokes, and sometimes our moods. https://ThePottersCast.com/1183