Rat City Studios is home to around 50 clay artists working on throwing, handbuilding, sculpture, and more… and maybe all of the above! We are lucky to have such a vibrant community of artists working under our roof. We want to show off our awesome artists and highlight their work, inspirations, and clay process.

Meet Elizabeth MacKenzie! Elizabeth is a long time, active member of the RCS studio community. She joined at the beginning of 2021!

Elizabeth’s Bio:
I grew up in Renton, WA with my parents and five brothers. After graduating with a B.S. in psychology from U.W. and marrying my college sweetheart, John Hilgedick (who is also an RCS artist), we traveled across the country. We spent some time in North Carolina, Florida, and Indiana for schooling, before finally settling in Seattle with our one-year-old daughter in 1999. I love hiking, my family, my friends, cooking, and travel. John and I started taking pottery classes in 2015 and became Rat City Studio Artists in 2021. I have had a child/adolescent psychology practice for the last 21 years. I look forward to expanding my small ceramics business a bit.

Get to know Elizabeth!

What is your favorite thing about making at Rat City Studios?

I love the community and the generous studio hours. I learn something from the work made by artists at every level around me and the studio is conducive to focusing on my work. (I have trouble picking one favorite)

What are your inspirations/influences when working with clay?

The sky, the sea, the mountains, rocks, and living things. I explore the relationship between humans and the rest of the natural world. Humans frequently work in opposition to the rest of the natural world. By using my own hands to make nature-inspired pieces, I feel a sense of harmony.

I investigate this relationship more explicitly in my wall-hangings. I am captivated by the Southwestern desert. The rocks hold geologic history. Fossils of shells found in an area hundreds of miles from the sea shows how time can change everything.

I visited the Palatki heritage site in Sedona, AZ in the winter of 2020. The red rock mountains, birds, and scrubby plant life are beautiful. The rocks also hold petrolglyphs, pictographs, and pueblos made by the Singua people and earlier people who lived in Palatki at least 5,000 years ago. Their dwellings, symbols, carvings, and art have become part of the beauty of the rocks. They show the possibility of harmony between humans and the rest of the natural world, even in a land characterized by extremes of climate and a history of violent colonialism. There is life, death, change, and resilience. Reflecting on those places, I find myself surprised by feelings of grief, awe, and hope.

What is your favorite part of the clay process?

One of my favorite parts of the process is working on a new form and / or design that seems to be a big stretch for me. I have learned to be patient and persistent with myself. This allows me to make, remake, and refine until I am pleased with the piece.

If you had to describe your artistic style using only three words, what would they be, and why?

"Freedom through imperfection.” I spent a lot of years driven toward excellence, which at times was perfectionistic. It helped me get through all of the education and training it took to be a child psychologist, a profession I love. The down side of this was that I avoided trying things that I thought would stick out as being less skilled.

I chose ceramics to let myself be bad at something, to take it step by step, and see where it took me. It took a long time to learn to be competent in my job so it seemed reasonable to think it would take me a long time to get good at ceramics. By accepting this, I gained freedom, as well as many opportunities to accept failure with minimal heartache.

A foundation in art history, patience, and determination set me up for success. I was pretty unskilled for at least three years until suddenly, I could actually make things that occasionally worked out. I joined Rat City Studios 3 years ago, and the studio hours allowed me much more practice time. Eventually, I developed a style, which provided a framework to build upon. Last year, I made a dinnerware set and my first pouring vessels, pitchers and teapots. I didn't see this in my future when I was struggling at the wheel to center clay and pulling up uneven walls.

If you could have a clay-making superpower, what would it be?

I joke in the studio that 75% of ceramics is moisture management, but that's the superpower I would want. To be excellent at moisture management! Since I've primarily hand built for the last 4 years, getting clay to the right degree of dryness is critical to success when joining parts, keeping forms from collapsing, etc.

tell me about your Instagram handle

My instagram handle is “@beginners.mind.creative.” I have a mindfulness practice and the "beginner's mind" concept is useful to me. As my skills progress, I see new things in my own work and the work of others. It is a way of being fresh while growing as an artist.