About
Celia Feldberg makes illustrated pottery, teaches, and maintains an active involvement at craft schools. She earned her BFA in ceramics from the Massachusetts College of Art and Design in 2019. Her work has been featured by The Ceramic Shop, Pottery Making Illustrated, Tales of A Red Clay Rambler and The Potters Cast. Celia was the glaze technician for Ben Carter’s Complete Guide to Low-Fire Glazes for Potters and Sculptors. She has exhibited at the Philadelphia Museum of Art Craft Show, Flower City Pottery Invitational, and in galleries across the country. Celia is currently based in Philadelphia where she is a long-term resident artist at The Clay Studio.
Statement
I make earthenware pottery which I slip and sgraffito to tell stories. Since making this work I have a new reaction to things that happen in my life, which is “I should make a mug about this.” I strive for my pottery to be touchable and practical, and for the illustrations to be joyous, or at least comforting in some way. I chase the quality of a memory with sensitive line work and soft colors. My characters are informed by storybooks and films that anthropomorphize animals to make everything a bit less real and a bit more charming and funny. I like when my drawings are both niche and relatable. The best part is when people feel uplifted by the pieces and connect the narrative to their own experiences. I want my imagery to exist on utilitarian pottery so it can be seen and engaged with often, on many different occasions, over a long time.
video by The Ceramic Shop
Selected media
An Illustrated Cake Stand process article for Pottery Making Illustrated
The Ceramic Shop x The Clay Studio Artist Spotlight
Low Fire Glazes for Potters and Sculptors book a wealth of knowledge for those interested in low fire, I worked with Ben Carter as a research assistant and glaze technician for this book and it features some of my work
Tales of A Red Clay Rambler podcast interview
See CV
Get in touch
“We can't say enough good things about Celia Feldberg's heartwarming earthenware. Her illustrations carry a storybook spirit, disarming us and encouraging us through engaging animal characters who are so human. Her stories find the beauty in everyday life -a quiet moment reading a good book, connecting with a cherished friend, or dancing with abandon and joie de vivre. Celia finds the poignancy and pain too, and her characters know how we feel and embrace us in a metaphoric big bear hug or hold our hand with a friendly sloth's three dainty fingers. Through text bubbles she somehow finds just the right thing to say that we need to hear. Her sgrafitto lines are as sensitive as the moments she describes, and there is a warm glow in her illustrations that suggests strong feeling or memory. Her pots are wonderful, touchable, joyous, and practical. This is brilliant work by an inspired storyteller, captured in the permanence of clay.”
- Charlie Cummings Gallery
