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Kelsey Barton

Ceramic Artist

current work

current work

Hotels-Models14015 2_edit_new 2.jpg

Hotels-Models14015 2_edit_new 2.jpg

made in Japan 2022

made in Japan 2022

made in Japan 2022

2018-2019

2018-2019

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inspired by Mên-an-Tol, a neolithic monument in Cornwall. according to local folklore, people once passed themselves or their children through its opening in search of healing, believing the stone held medicinal power. it’s interesting to me the ways humans project hope and ritual onto geologic forms, and how those stories can transform rocks into something sacred. this piece is the first study of a potential future work at an architectural scale, designed to compel visitors to physically pass through it.

inspired by Mên-an-Tol, a neolithic monument in Cornwall. according to local folklore, people once passed themselves or their children through its opening in search of healing, believing the stone held medicinal power. it’s interesting to me the ways humans project hope and ritual onto geologic forms, and how those stories can transform rocks into something sacred. this piece is the first study of a potential future work at an architectural scale, designed to compel visitors to physically pass through it.

the rookery, cone 6 soda-fired stoneware, 2026

this piece started as an experiment in building larger forms. originally I imagined it as a habitat for a series of miniature implicit-creature sculptures, but somewhere along the way I realized it stood better alone. I spent a long time trying to figure out how to finish the surface before I decided to cover it with thin clay strands I had been experimenting with. they reminded me of nesting material, but I noticed that people have seen them as all sorts of other things: roots, strings, worms, insulation material. do they remind you of something different?

#contemporaryceramics #ceramicsculpture

the rookery, cone 6 soda-fired stoneware, 2026

this piece started as an experiment in building larger forms. originally I imagined it as a habitat for a series of miniature implicit-creature sculptures, but somewhere along the way I realized it stood better alone. I spent a long time trying to figure out how to finish the surface before I decided to cover it with thin clay strands I had been experimenting with. they reminded me of nesting material, but I noticed that people have seen them as all sorts of other things: roots, strings, worms, insulation material. do they remind you of something different?

#contemporaryceramics #ceramicsculpture

EDSA glow powder is a non-toxic, non-radioactive phosphorescent pigment that absorbs light and slowly releases it as a glow in the dark. The base glaze that I used can be found here: https://ceramicmaterialsworkshop.com/glow-in-the-dark-glazes/

Follow for more ceramic related experiments and art!

EDSA glow powder is a non-toxic, non-radioactive phosphorescent pigment that absorbs light and slowly releases it as a glow in the dark. The base glaze that I used can be found here: https://ceramicmaterialsworkshop.com/glow-in-the-dark-glazes/

Follow for more ceramic related experiments and art!

making my pieces glow with Europium-Doped Strontium Aluminate (EDSA) mixed into a base glaze from @ceramicmaterialsworkshop (https://ceramicmaterialsworkshop.com/glow-in-the-dark-glazes/)

EDSA powder works like a rechargeable light battery, storing energy from light and gradually releasing it as a visible glow in the dark. ✨ it’s non-toxic and non-radioactive, but I wouldn’t use it on surfaces that touch food. so excited to experiment with this material more!

making my pieces glow with Europium-Doped Strontium Aluminate (EDSA) mixed into a base glaze from @ceramicmaterialsworkshop (https://ceramicmaterialsworkshop.com/glow-in-the-dark-glazes/)

EDSA powder works like a rechargeable light battery, storing energy from light and gradually releasing it as a visible glow in the dark. ✨ it’s non-toxic and non-radioactive, but I wouldn’t use it on surfaces that touch food. so excited to experiment with this material more!

really happy with the way these wall pieces came out of the soda fire led by @aurora_peace_ceramics a few weeks back. i’ve been developing a hanging system (slide 5) that lets me decide between 8 orientations after firing. the carved grooves allow the sawtooth hanger to sit more flushly against the wall so the piece doesn’t lean backward when installed. i attach the hangers inside a groove with PC-7 epoxy, which has held up very securely on ceramics in my studio over the past year (slide 6).

really happy with the way these wall pieces came out of the soda fire led by @aurora_peace_ceramics a few weeks back. i’ve been developing a hanging system (slide 5) that lets me decide between 8 orientations after firing. the carved grooves allow the sawtooth hanger to sit more flushly against the wall so the piece doesn’t lean backward when installed. i attach the hangers inside a groove with PC-7 epoxy, which has held up very securely on ceramics in my studio over the past year (slide 6).

Talus is a responsive ceramic form that swivels its head and emits light until it becomes aware of being watched. Triggered by a PIR motion sensor, the piece freezes and flashes a red light patterned after fearful hyperventilation when it senses rapid changes in infrared radiation emitted by a nearby, moving body. The behavior draws from moments in nature where a creature suddenly stills under the human gaze. Looking becomes consequential, placing the viewer in a vouyeristic role where attention itself interrupts the work’s ambient state. Built with ceramic, electronic parts embedded within resin tiles (including pressable push button switches, a 1 ohm and a 1 million ohm resistor, and ceramic capacitors) an an Arduino-based system, the piece operates somewhere between sculpture, organism, and object. Created this past semester in an amazing sensor-based art course taught by @katerie_gladdys

Talus is a responsive ceramic form that swivels its head and emits light until it becomes aware of being watched. Triggered by a PIR motion sensor, the piece freezes and flashes a red light patterned after fearful hyperventilation when it senses rapid changes in infrared radiation emitted by a nearby, moving body. The behavior draws from moments in nature where a creature suddenly stills under the human gaze. Looking becomes consequential, placing the viewer in a vouyeristic role where attention itself interrupts the work’s ambient state. Built with ceramic, electronic parts embedded within resin tiles (including pressable push button switches, a 1 ohm and a 1 million ohm resistor, and ceramic capacitors) an an Arduino-based system, the piece operates somewhere between sculpture, organism, and object. Created this past semester in an amazing sensor-based art course taught by @katerie_gladdys

‎

it stands now,
vitrified by impossible heat—
moving with the slow resolve of shifting continents,
drinking from cold rivers.

2026

‎

it stands now,
vitrified by impossible heat—
moving with the slow resolve of shifting continents,
drinking from cold rivers.

2026

check out my piece 𝘗𝘳𝘰𝘷𝘪𝘴𝘪𝘰𝘯𝘢𝘭 𝘊𝘰𝘴𝘮𝘰𝘨𝘳𝘢𝘮 in room 414 at the Huntington Convention Center where NCECA is hosted this year! Everything from the GTF @ncecagreentaskforce Materials: Volumetric Reduction show is made with materials diverted from the waste stream! my piece includes clay with stains and additives I don’t want in my normal reclaim, kiln parts, pyrometric cones, wadding, ceramic shards, waste glaze, and other fireable refuse materials and is displayed on an old curtain embroidered with string, both from the nonprofit @therepurposeproject that diverts materials from landfills for use in arts and crafts. I’m so grateful to have a piece on display at the conference this year and with such an amazing group of artists rethinking and innovating within the field of sustainable ceramics. our show is on display until Friday at 5!

check out my piece 𝘗𝘳𝘰𝘷𝘪𝘴𝘪𝘰𝘯𝘢𝘭 𝘊𝘰𝘴𝘮𝘰𝘨𝘳𝘢𝘮 in room 414 at the Huntington Convention Center where NCECA is hosted this year! Everything from the GTF @ncecagreentaskforce Materials: Volumetric Reduction show is made with materials diverted from the waste stream! my piece includes clay with stains and additives I don’t want in my normal reclaim, kiln parts, pyrometric cones, wadding, ceramic shards, waste glaze, and other fireable refuse materials and is displayed on an old curtain embroidered with string, both from the nonprofit @therepurposeproject that diverts materials from landfills for use in arts and crafts. I’m so grateful to have a piece on display at the conference this year and with such an amazing group of artists rethinking and innovating within the field of sustainable ceramics. our show is on display until Friday at 5!

I named this piece “genetrix” because it carries both maternal and altar-like associations for me.

the tiled surface sits somewhere between masonry and skin. It feels built, but also grown into.

the central void is my favorite part of the work. it feels to me less like empty space and more like a chamber being framed. I keep thinking about the idea that negative space isn’t absence, but the place where presence happens, giving the form its purpose, as if the body of the piece exists almost to protect that space.

cone 6, soda fired stoneware with mason stain, perlite, handmade grog, and sawdust inclusions

I named this piece “genetrix” because it carries both maternal and altar-like associations for me.

the tiled surface sits somewhere between masonry and skin. It feels built, but also grown into.

the central void is my favorite part of the work. it feels to me less like empty space and more like a chamber being framed. I keep thinking about the idea that negative space isn’t absence, but the place where presence happens, giving the form its purpose, as if the body of the piece exists almost to protect that space.

cone 6, soda fired stoneware with mason stain, perlite, handmade grog, and sawdust inclusions

the first piece from a new body of work.

I’m introducing an implicit creature that composes architectural and geological ruin. these forms feel constructed, but also grown. I’m drawn to structures that persist after their systems fail, and to bodies that operate like institutions: layered, accumulated, unstable, and motivated by their own agendas.

this piece is called “sentinel”. fired to cone 6 in the @uf.ceramics soda kiln this past weekend.

the first piece from a new body of work.

I’m introducing an implicit creature that composes architectural and geological ruin. these forms feel constructed, but also grown. I’m drawn to structures that persist after their systems fail, and to bodies that operate like institutions: layered, accumulated, unstable, and motivated by their own agendas.

this piece is called “sentinel”. fired to cone 6 in the @uf.ceramics soda kiln this past weekend.

made earlier this semester in response to a prompt about an underconsidered protagonist. I chose hands—because they do all the work and I mostly just take the credit, lol. more seriously though, they also serve as a symbol of person, labor, and identity throughout time.

“traces” was handbuilt using press-molds from a mold made of my own hands (which feels appropriately recursive). the form started to read as cave-like, and I leaned into that. the back references cave hand paintings, so I made vinyl sticker stencils traced from the hands at Cueva de las Manos in Argentina, then dry brushed around them with various oxides. these hands reference mark-making as proof of presence, labor, and survival.

glazed with clay collected from the UF Energy Research and Education Park, mixed with frit so it would flux a bit, then sprayed on. a lot of touching, tracing, pressing, leaving evidence behind.

made earlier this semester in response to a prompt about an underconsidered protagonist. I chose hands—because they do all the work and I mostly just take the credit, lol. more seriously though, they also serve as a symbol of person, labor, and identity throughout time.

“traces” was handbuilt using press-molds from a mold made of my own hands (which feels appropriately recursive). the form started to read as cave-like, and I leaned into that. the back references cave hand paintings, so I made vinyl sticker stencils traced from the hands at Cueva de las Manos in Argentina, then dry brushed around them with various oxides. these hands reference mark-making as proof of presence, labor, and survival.

glazed with clay collected from the UF Energy Research and Education Park, mixed with frit so it would flux a bit, then sprayed on. a lot of touching, tracing, pressing, leaving evidence behind.

baby’s first barrel fire!

🔥
🛢️

my piece shown at the end, titled “abscission”, was fired in one of these drums using dry organic waste from UF’s Energy Research and Education Park. the burning combustible materials create smoke and carbon that stain the piece and create these amazing organic and unpredictable patterns. abscission is made from hundreds of tiles textured with tree bark casts that I’ve been making of native Florida trees this semester. the tiles visually form the suggestion of overlapping tree trunks and branches. I really want to experiment with both these methods of making and firing again soon!

baby’s first barrel fire!

🔥
🛢️

my piece shown at the end, titled “abscission”, was fired in one of these drums using dry organic waste from UF’s Energy Research and Education Park. the burning combustible materials create smoke and carbon that stain the piece and create these amazing organic and unpredictable patterns. abscission is made from hundreds of tiles textured with tree bark casts that I’ve been making of native Florida trees this semester. the tiles visually form the suggestion of overlapping tree trunks and branches. I really want to experiment with both these methods of making and firing again soon!

how to #growmoss on ceramic art! key is to keep a moist but not waterlogged environment and have something in your mixture like sugar, milk, yogurt to serve as nutrients for the moss. #moss

how to #growmoss on ceramic art! key is to keep a moist but not waterlogged environment and have something in your mixture like sugar, milk, yogurt to serve as nutrients for the moss. #moss

had the MOST fun meeting old & new friends at CIRCA symposium hosted by @uarkceramics this year. what a fantastic group of talented artists. a whirlwind of a weekend that I’ll cherish forever. just wish I took more pictures!

had the MOST fun meeting old & new friends at CIRCA symposium hosted by @uarkceramics this year. what a fantastic group of talented artists. a whirlwind of a weekend that I’ll cherish forever. just wish I took more pictures!

I’ve been loving how squirrels, cardinals, lizards, and other animals interact with my sculpture like it’s always been part of their world. an anole has moved in under the top rock of the cairn—he sunbathes on top when it’s warm and hides under the canopy when it rains. birds use it as a stepping stone to the window feeder (thanks for the feeder, Jill!) and squirrels treat it like a jungle gym. I’m starting to think more about functional ceramics not from a human perspective, but as part of a larger ecosystem. there’s something really honest about how animals use outdoor sculptures when they’re just left alone. planning to expand this concrete slab outside my studio into a small sculpture garden next semester and haven for native birds, pollinators, and whoever else wants to visit.

I’ve been loving how squirrels, cardinals, lizards, and other animals interact with my sculpture like it’s always been part of their world. an anole has moved in under the top rock of the cairn—he sunbathes on top when it’s warm and hides under the canopy when it rains. birds use it as a stepping stone to the window feeder (thanks for the feeder, Jill!) and squirrels treat it like a jungle gym. I’m starting to think more about functional ceramics not from a human perspective, but as part of a larger ecosystem. there’s something really honest about how animals use outdoor sculptures when they’re just left alone. planning to expand this concrete slab outside my studio into a small sculpture garden next semester and haven for native birds, pollinators, and whoever else wants to visit.

had so much fun, learned so much, and met so many cool artists at Sustain: Woodfire NC 2025, hosted by @starworksnc 💫! the conference consisted of phenomenal clay demos by artists like Chris Gustin and Ted Neal and a rocket kiln firing demonstrated by Lisa Orr, and I sat in on lots of lectures and panels hosted by artists and educators such as John Neely. I was so grateful to able to connect with artists like @antrasinhausu and @smithworksstudios , who I particularly enjoyed talking to about the influences of geologic formations on their work, something that I have been fascinated with in graduate school. everyone was so kind and approachable, and I’m so grateful to be a part of a community so open to sharing information and hospitality. @takuroshibataceramics was kind enough to give us a tour of the clay factory where Starworks mixes wild NC clay with commercial materials to make the local clay a joy to work with. I was also invited to stop by @benowenpottery’s firing in Seagrove, which was so much fun. his setup is truly the pinnacle of effective wood firing, and the resulting work is proof.

my piece “Ingress” was featured in the juried student exhibition throughout the duration of conference. thank you so much to the jury for selecting my work to be included! #woodfirenc

had so much fun, learned so much, and met so many cool artists at Sustain: Woodfire NC 2025, hosted by @starworksnc 💫! the conference consisted of phenomenal clay demos by artists like Chris Gustin and Ted Neal and a rocket kiln firing demonstrated by Lisa Orr, and I sat in on lots of lectures and panels hosted by artists and educators such as John Neely. I was so grateful to able to connect with artists like @antrasinhausu and @smithworksstudios , who I particularly enjoyed talking to about the influences of geologic formations on their work, something that I have been fascinated with in graduate school. everyone was so kind and approachable, and I’m so grateful to be a part of a community so open to sharing information and hospitality. @takuroshibataceramics was kind enough to give us a tour of the clay factory where Starworks mixes wild NC clay with commercial materials to make the local clay a joy to work with. I was also invited to stop by @benowenpottery’s firing in Seagrove, which was so much fun. his setup is truly the pinnacle of effective wood firing, and the resulting work is proof.

my piece “Ingress” was featured in the juried student exhibition throughout the duration of conference. thank you so much to the jury for selecting my work to be included! #woodfirenc

an assemblage I showed as part of my first year review. I love the tessellated surfaces with super small tiles, they’re really good visual examples of the meticulous labor that goes into making a tiled piece.

an assemblage I showed as part of my first year review. I love the tessellated surfaces with super small tiles, they’re really good visual examples of the meticulous labor that goes into making a tiled piece.

some things from our wood fire in the phoenix fast fire kiln this past weekend :)

thank you again to everyone who participated, these wood fire nights will be cherished as some of my favorite grad school memories(๑˃̵ᴗ˂̵)

so excited for @nceca next week, salt lake city here we come 😎✌︎

after that, I have so much in progress work that I need to finish up and document. first year review is right around the corner (◉⌓◉)

some things from our wood fire in the phoenix fast fire kiln this past weekend :)

thank you again to everyone who participated, these wood fire nights will be cherished as some of my favorite grad school memories(๑˃̵ᴗ˂̵)

so excited for @nceca next week, salt lake city here we come 😎✌︎

after that, I have so much in progress work that I need to finish up and document. first year review is right around the corner (◉⌓◉)

a menhir is a single standing stone placed by humans as markers or monuments, typically in prehistoric times. mine, constructed from clay, is a reflection on the human impulse to shape and leave marks on the landscape—a way to interpret, commemorate, and connect with the world. the handmade and meticulously placed tiles, like fragments of history, represent interconnectedness, small pieces coming together to create a whole. I love the duality in this piece between the durability of stone and the inevitability of erosion and decay. a reminder of impermanence.

this was the main piece I presented during my final critique. I can’t believe my first semester of graduate school is already wrapping up!

a menhir is a single standing stone placed by humans as markers or monuments, typically in prehistoric times. mine, constructed from clay, is a reflection on the human impulse to shape and leave marks on the landscape—a way to interpret, commemorate, and connect with the world. the handmade and meticulously placed tiles, like fragments of history, represent interconnectedness, small pieces coming together to create a whole. I love the duality in this piece between the durability of stone and the inevitability of erosion and decay. a reminder of impermanence.

this was the main piece I presented during my final critique. I can’t believe my first semester of graduate school is already wrapping up!

a huge thank you to everyone at syracuse university’s ceramics department for welcoming me to help out at your anagama firing—it was such a great experience! went out there to see @witteceramics 💗 and ended up learning so much over the 5 day firing, meeting some awesome folks, and making some memories around the fire. never got bored, just sleepy (and cold!) can’t wait to see the results! #anagama

a huge thank you to everyone at syracuse university’s ceramics department for welcoming me to help out at your anagama firing—it was such a great experience! went out there to see @witteceramics 💗 and ended up learning so much over the 5 day firing, meeting some awesome folks, and making some memories around the fire. never got bored, just sleepy (and cold!) can’t wait to see the results! #anagama

a piece from my midterm critique currently hanging on my studio wall—porcelain and stoneware tesserae fired in various sections of the wood kiln, mounted on wood salvaged from the pile.

a piece from my midterm critique currently hanging on my studio wall—porcelain and stoneware tesserae fired in various sections of the wood kiln, mounted on wood salvaged from the pile.

this wood fire was sooo much fun and so many new experiences for me.
1) firing the wood kiln at @uf.ceramics
2) leading/supervising a wood fire all by myself
3) being at a wood fire from candling to cooling

thank you to everyone that showed up to hang out, even for a few minutes. i hope i was able to teach you something, however small. i’m so impressed with the dedicated undergrads at UF, who were such a huge help and i couldn’t have done it without them, particularly @jilliandahl_ @jackson_domenico @rookieang @jadebennettart 💓 you guys are awesome. hope you learned a lot and you fell in love with the process as much as i did my first firing.

and thank you to @derek_reeverts for building the dang thing back in 2018. i’m hoping to fire it at least once a semester & build back the wood fire community at UF so it’s strong even once i’m gone. such a beautiful kiln should not go to waste!

fingers crossed for good results upon unloading and of course i will keep everyone in the loop!

this wood fire was sooo much fun and so many new experiences for me.
1) firing the wood kiln at @uf.ceramics
2) leading/supervising a wood fire all by myself
3) being at a wood fire from candling to cooling

thank you to everyone that showed up to hang out, even for a few minutes. i hope i was able to teach you something, however small. i’m so impressed with the dedicated undergrads at UF, who were such a huge help and i couldn’t have done it without them, particularly @jilliandahl_ @jackson_domenico @rookieang @jadebennettart 💓 you guys are awesome. hope you learned a lot and you fell in love with the process as much as i did my first firing.

and thank you to @derek_reeverts for building the dang thing back in 2018. i’m hoping to fire it at least once a semester & build back the wood fire community at UF so it’s strong even once i’m gone. such a beautiful kiln should not go to waste!

fingers crossed for good results upon unloading and of course i will keep everyone in the loop!

budapest

last river cruise post i swear

budapest

last river cruise post i swear

vienna, austria & bratislava, slovakia

vienna, austria & bratislava, slovakia

regensburg & passau

regensburg & passau

drippy!
cone 10 #sodafired waterfall pot with added glass

lots more from this firing, excited to share

drippy!
cone 10 #sodafired waterfall pot with added glass

lots more from this firing, excited to share

soda fired mugs 2024
(a little obsessed)

soda fired mugs 2024
(a little obsessed)

soda fired teapot, 2024

I always make 2 lids for my teapots, not sure why.

soda fired teapot, 2024

I always make 2 lids for my teapots, not sure why.

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@kelseybartonart

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