Aaron Murray

One of the best things about teaching ceramics is that I get to teach at one of the most beautiful places in the world. The sunsets at Alki are amazing, and there is such a great mix of people, it is the perfect place for people watching and meeting friends. West Seattle sometimes feels like a small town, it has a very strong sense of community and the beach culture at Alki allows one to slow down the pace of life to admire the beauty around. The Alki Bath House is also a h

The Hot Catz are a group of cat characters that were first developed about 6 years ago. The Hot Catz theme was further developed as I began depicting them on cups and bowl in various scenarios. Hot Catz in space, Hot Catz Interview, Hot Catz in Hatz, Hot Catz on Film, were a few of many ideas I developed for them. I also made relief block prints, some comic strips, and many drawings for this theme. Previous to the Hot Catz explosion, I had made a few cat figurines that I most

In addition to making sculptures I enjoy making pots on a wheel. Lately I have made a series of cups, bowls, and vases with owls depicted on them in underglaze. The pots are made from clay bodies that fire at cone 6 and cone 10. At Alki Beach where I teach classes, we use clay and glazes that fire at cone 6, because we only have an electric kiln. I make pots from a porcelain body called ckk6, another yellow stoneware called Vashon White, a Vashon Brown, and a Kalama Red. So

I decided to make some deer for the holidays this year. The deer are pinched and pulled from stoneware clay at my house on Beacon Hill. I bisque fire them at Alki Beach. I glazed them with paprika, Ohata Kaki, and tenmouku glazes and fired them to cone 10 at the Kirkland Arts Center. Each deer is unique and is stylized in a general way to look deer-like. None are meant to represent a particular deer species. Paprika glazed with tenmouku glaze on horns and black underglaze

These are sculptures based roughly on plush animals. As a child I owned several different animals made from various materials. These plush toys were often a source of comfort. As an only child that often spent time alone, these plush friends would often act out scenarios that were important to helping me understand the complexity in the human relationships that I was witnessing on television and in real life. These sculptures were also made by stuffing various papers insid

This month features Cascadia Now! at Fancy. Fancy's owner and fellow UNT (North Texas) alumni Sally Brock allowed me to curate an exhibition of art for the NCECA conference. NCECA is an annual ceramics extravaganza held each year at a different location around the USA. This year the conference is in Seattle and it's theme is "On the Edge". The National Council for the Education of Ceramic Arts hosts numerous exhibitions, informational sessions, art shows, and lectures by arti