2021 was a year for the records!

This was yet another corona-coaster year!
We tried our best to keep our hands in the air for the dips and swells. Here are some of our highlights!

The Soda-Kiln Shed extension is finished thanks to incredible help from our friend Chris, plus our amazing RCS support crew! We got lots of help from welders in finishing the kiln - Steve came down from AK to fashion a fabulous roll-away door. Our neighbors Josh & Matt helped with the frame, and Joe finished the chimney! It is nearly complete.  We still need a gas line and a hole for the chimney in the roof. Closer and closer!

I have continued teaching online, making pots, and working with my amazing crew – Pictured below are myself, Brooke, Finn, Anika, Hayley, & Jess. RCS  won a Studio Potter Magazine Apprenticeship Grant this year that gave 2nd year assistants a bump and a new computer and test kiln for everyone to use.

We are thrilled Rene Gutierrez will formally join the RCS Crew March of 2022!

Gallons of golden honey gooed up the kitchen as I spun a huge harvest out of six hives worth of honeycombs. The process makes the house smell heavenly and I love making granola with it. I started dabbling with encaustic painting too!

And a major shift in Joe’s life has taken place. He finished up 5 years of working with John Grade and switched trades! This culminated in installing the enormous sculpture that he and another person fabricated in SeaTac Airport in the new Alaska wing. Shortly after, Joe landed a new job offering more growth, with Dyna Construction - a specialized metal shop focused on welding. Since then, he has moved from apprentice to official “Fabricator” and is making gorgeous railings and metal fixtures for fancy homes. We are so lucky as there are lots of projects at the new space that Joe is helping with1

And a big dream is coming into reality for me. I had the opportunity to purchase a 2000 sq ft commercial space from a friend and potter who is retiring from the area. It is only 1.6 miles from our home, and it is a splendid open space. The new sister-studio will be named Rain City Clay. I get the keys March 1st and will be doing projects galore! Wanna help? Visit https://raincityclay.com/ for details.

 This year, the out of studio highlights included a lot of time with family. And we celebrated our five-year anniversary together by popping down to Oregon to meet a whole passel of Joe’s family. It was grand! We are leaning into life and pressing on together. We had a lovely visit from Joe’s mom and are excited for her move out West this summer! We spent the holidays with my parents and miss my sister and Rene as they were adventuring around the states! We have been cooking our favorite recipes from Ottolenghi cookbooks throughout the year. Check them out and make yourself a feast! 

Reworked “About”

As I defined the roles that each RCS and RCC would play, I reworked the information about each space with the help of Rebel Rose Consulting.

Organization Wide Mission
Rat City Studios & Rain City Clay are sister studios located in White Center & West Seattle. They are vibrant, creative communities that offer everything from beginning pottery classes to firing services for local potters. RCS & RCC bring people together through shared experiences in clay. Here we engage and build community through clay. Explore our community by taking a class or browsing the gallery!

About Rat City Studios
https://ratcitystudios.com
@ratcitystudios
Location: 2410 SW 106th Street, Seattle, WA 98146
Visits: by Appointment Only Please

Rat City Studios is an open creative clay studio that provides a supportive environment for makers working independently in clay and artists who seek to take the next step down their paths as potters.  This welcoming studio,  located in White Center, is home to founder-potter-instructor-author Deb Schwartzkopf. RCS offers monthly studio access to independent study participants, skill-building online clay workshops, and guidance for emerging artists through studio assistant positions.  We support artists at many levels through shared experiential learning. We also have an array of events where we sell our handmade ceramic ware.

About Rain City Clay
https://raincityclay.com/
@rain.city.clay
4208 SW 100th Street, Seattle, WA 98146

Rain City Clay offers classes for all levels, skill-building workshops, a firing service for local potters, artist studios, and a specialty shop featuring local and national artists. Located in West Seattle, we are a vibrant creative community passionate about working with clay. Our offerings are aimed at cultivating imagination, bringing people together, and facilitating a space where everyone has a place to foster their creative side.

Guiding Values for RCS & RCC

Openness:
Exchange ideas and information
Share experience and techniques generously
Be a resource

Respect:
Seek and learn from community input
Support the equal value of all people
Earn the admiration of the community

Creativity:
Encourage risk-taking as a part of the creative process
Diverse perspectives enrich us
Expand curiosity, capabilities, and knowledge

Community:
Collaborate with small businesses
Connect by recognizing commonalities and appreciating differences through shared experience
Value and develop the team

The Growing Studio Crew:
Anika is staying on as Lead Studio Manager. Hayley Reed is our Marketing Assistant. Brooke Felix is finishing up her 2nd year as Assistant Studio Manager.(while setting up her own studio in Tacoma) and Jess Lee is in their first year. Finn Park in helping as support Crew.
We welcome Rene Gutierrez into the group!

The group is growing as we hire instructors and get ready to spread our wings at the new space!

Studio Artists: There are 40 studio members that pay a monthly fee to have access to the studio. We are currently full, but I do have a waitlist. More info on studio members.

Goals for 2022

~ Hold steady and keep perspective as Rain City Clay expansion takes place
~ Making time for physical health: more stretching & running!
~  Stay balanced by spending time with the garden & bees
~ Fire a Soda-Kiln!
~ Return to my meditation practice with the Waking Up App
~ Foster generosity with generosity
~ Embrace the unknown
~ Kayak!

(Coming Soon) Making a living as an Artist looks like this...  

Below are Pie Charts of my 2021 Income and Expenses
Even further down are highlights and lists of where all my time went.
I hope to learn as I do this over the years. For more business resources: visit http://ratcitystudios.com/resources/

2021 Writings

2nd year in publication! 6300+ Copies Sold Creative Pottery, Innovative Techniques and Experimental Designs in Ceramics, by Deb Schwartzkopf

(other writings...)

Online Teaching

In 2021, I taught more than 30+ online streamed sessions on clay related topics

Topics include: Scoops n Spoons, Guest Artist: Mandi Salov, Setting up a Clay Studio, Wheel fundamentals Feb, BAM Docents, Cups of All Kinds March, UNL Workshop, Yard Art April, Bowls, Butter Dishes, Vases, Plates, Glazing, Pitchers, Bowls, Lidded Jars, Ramsey College, Teapots, Benyammini, & Holiday Ornaments

35 Inclusivity Awards were given for free participation by underrepresented groups in the arts -
Please share this opportunity!

Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, and Access Statement

As a business owner, educator, curator, and artist, I recognize my essential role in dismantling unjust and inequitable systems within my own organization and in the larger community. I am committed and dedicated to this lifelong process.

 I am continually learning and understanding the ways in which my background and the opportunities offered to me have benefited me. I recognize my position of privilege in an inequitable, racist, and non-inclusive system. Through this lens, I am committed to making measurable and lasting changes that will foster racial equity, encourage diversity, and cultivate a more inclusive community. I believe that a more diverse, equitable, and inclusive community is a better community.

As a business owner and through my business, Rat City Studios, I stand in solidarity against racism in the clay community and the systemic inequities and injustices that our BIPOC and LGBTQ+ communities face. I will endeavor to actively use the resources of RCS to facilitate sustainable change and foster a creative community that is safe, inclusive, and equitable.

I am posting my statement and goals on my website. Please support and help hold me accountable as I continually practice, learn, and transform. ( To read more visit this link )

2020 Visual Year in Review!

Other 2021 Highlights
Signed paperwork to buy Brace Point Pottery from Loren Lukens & Beth Kirchhoff
Saw four beehives make it through the winter!!!
Worked with Dubsea to exhibit 160+ during the 4th annual Community Cups Showcase!
Started having Sip N Spins and Independent Lessons again
Learned to roll my kayak!
Nearly finished the soda-kiln
Helped out with the Pottery Northwest Board
Online Holiday Pottery Sale
1st All studio in-person holiday sale with 15 participants
AND
Visited Windcliff Garden for the first time!

There is so much to be thankful for.