Life is brilliantly chaotic, and Knight Ceramics is helping to bring a sunny spot of calm with her vibrant and organically-inspired wheel-thrown pottery designs. Knight Ceramics (who prefers to remain anonymous since she uses her real name for her painting business) serves up an array of striking tablewares with a special focus on planters and handpainted homewares that add life to the spaces they reside in.
A multidisciplinary artist, Knight Ceramics started as a way for the creator to connect with others who shared her affinity for pairing plants and pottery. Her charming creations have already gained a sizeable following, which allowed her to capitalize on the dualities of sharing her work with others while indulging her inner Zen through the creation process.
Here, the artist behind the brand talks to CommonCreativ about turning her plant addiction into a business backed by passion, her path to reconnecting with clay, and why she’s proud now to call Atlanta her home.
CommonCreativ: What brought you to Atlanta?
Knight Ceramics: I moved to Atlanta from Chicago almost four years ago when my ex-boyfriend received a job offer.
CC: How did you start making pottery? When did you bring together pottery and plants?
KC: I learned to throw [a term for using a potter’s wheel] when I was about 16 years old. Pennsylvania had an amazing program for high schoolers to go away for five weeks, live on a college campus, and be immersed in the arts. It was a wonderful experience. Late last year, a dear friend introduced me to WonderRoot and I re-taught myself how to throw. It came back to me surprisingly easily and I find it to be a wonderful way to clear my head; a sort of meditation practice.
I love house plants! Like obsessed/addicted. My mother always had tons of plants in our home. For me, it makes a place feel lived-in. I love the idea of decorating my home with living things, and creating the pots for my plant addiction was a natural progression of two things I just can’t get enough.
CC: How did Knight Ceramics come together? When did it open?
KC: My friends pushed me to make it happen. I would never have thought to do this without their reassurance. It is intimidating to put yourself out there creatively. I started with an Instagram page in June, which helped me to see the huge community of plant and pottery lovers that exists, and [that] gave me the courage to start my Etsy shop.
CC: What is your favorite part of creating a piece?
KC: Honestly, all of it. Clay is such a wonderful material to work with, the whole process is such a calming experience for me. I love playing in the mud and creating something purposeful and beautiful from it.
CC: What inspires your tableware designs?
KC: As you can probably tell, I am very into repetition. I am inspired by cell structures and graphic clean lines. Mixing the organic dot shapes and making graphic designs out of them feels fresh and gratifying to me.
CC: Do you have any wise words for artists looking to build a business?
KC: Be diligent, courageous, and patient. Take criticism, and surround yourself with people who inspire and encourage you.
CC: What inspires you?
KC: Patterns, interesting color combinations, home decor, organic life, and function. I love seeing how others’ work and problem solve.
CC: What do you think of Atlanta’s creative scene right now?
KC: Atlanta has one of the most welcoming and encouraging creative scenes. There is a warmth to the artist community here that does not exist in other cities. Places like WonderRoot are exciting hubs for artists to learn from each other in an environment that is not intimidating.
CC: When you’re not creating, where do you spend your time in Atlanta?
KC: Art, movies, restaurants, and craft cocktails would probably sum it up.
CC: What’s up next for you?
KC: I am hoping to collaborate with other makers. I would love to do soap-dish sets with someone making craft soaps, but only time will tell.
You can see more of Knight Ceramics’ work on her Instagram and shop.
