Deborah Schwartzkopf:
Seattle based Studio Potter & Instructor
Workshops
Bio
With a passion to engage and build community through clay Deb Schwartzkopf uses her unique skill set to offer educational opportunities. As a studio artist, she makes her own fabulous tableware that infuses life with purposeful beauty. Her artwork is recognized and showcased nationally. Deb was inspired by the guidance of amazing mentors along the way. These important relationships helped foster her desire to provide support and mentorship for the growing clay community. Her adventurous spirit has taken her across the country and beyond to build a depth of experience, knowledge, and a supportive network.
In 2013 Deb established Rat City Studios in her hometown of Seattle, WA. RCS is her home and studio, as well as a creative space for multiple studio members working independently. In 2022 she opened a sister studio, Rain City Clay in West Seattle. RCC is a community art center focusing on experiential learning through ceramics classes for enthusiasts of all levels.
With over 15 years of experience, a Master’s of Fine Art at Penn State, artwork included in collections such as the Kamm Teapot Foundation, San Angelo Museum, and the WA State Arts Collection, numerous publications including Ceramic Monthly, Pottery Making Illustrated, and Studio Potter Magazine, she has been recognized and honored in her career as a maker and is thrilled to be expanding the community.
Artist Statement
Momentum, Curiosity, Community
As a studio artist my goal is to make fabulous tableware that infuses life with purposeful beauty. As an active community member and instructor I use my unique skill set, as an artist and small business owner, to offer educational opportunities. Through clay, I create pathways to cross-pollinate communities.
In order to make pottery I must approach the clay with openness and practiced skill, with a clear idea and playful intuition. My studio practice is a constant cycle referring to itself in the way I draw from my own processes and from my approach to problem solving. I also look farther afield, drinking in the many details of the world around me. I am a sponge for nuances of color placement in birds and how shadows break up forms and cause me to notice them anew. I am always seeking and asking myself, “How does this cup feel when held? Where will this pitcher live? What am I communicating with this line or volume?” As I spend hours in my studio working away, my mind blends and refracts the interests I research and the circling, recurring questions. I love the stillness and intensity of my studio practice in which I am free to listen, to move clay, to invent… My studio practice feeds me. I am fulfilled building my community through teaching workshops, trading eggs with neighbors, and spending time with friends and family. I am busy like a bee tending to the details of life, keeping up with my many hobbies, keeping my studio practice vibrate, promoting my career, mentoring in the studio, gardening and occasionally tinking away on my banjo. This constant motion feeds my energy and excitement for life, which I strive to capture in the forms and surfaces of my pottery.
Quarry Books @quartocreates
Learn More!
( Downloadable CV PDF )
For a full listing of exhibitions, teaching appointments, and more…
