Rain City Clay is lucky to be staffed by a group of dedicated ceramicists who work diligently to keep the studio running, who teach with passion and exuberance, and engage and build community through clay. In addition to all that they do at RCC, they also have their own clay practices, either in the RCC basement studios or off-site, where they make their own work and grow their skills. Each month we will be featuring one of our fantastic staff members and their talents.

This month we are highlighting Brooke Felix (she/her)!

Brooke’s Bio:

I was born in Southern California and I now reside in Washington State. In 2018 I began my journey with clay by taking a pottery class at Green River Community College. Following those classes, I volunteered at Green River until 2020. In 2019 I had worked at an overnight camp in Becket, Massachusetts teaching ages 7 to 16 ceramics and crafts. For two years I worked with Deborah Schwartzkopf at Rat City Studios in West Seattle till 2022, and I now teach and work at Rain City Clay!

What do you like about being an RCC instructor and staff person?

I love that I am able to help direct inspiration and creativity through teaching and sharing knowledge with those who are interested in the creation process. As a member of staff I have a little more insight of those outside of my class and see how they create.

What are your inspirations / influences when making work?

Where I grab inspiration is mainly from my surroundings. Anywhere, at any time. Since I live in the city, I have a lot of urban influences like brick buildings, train cars, and colorful murals. I constantly take pictures of things like rocks, textures, and plants. With the photos I’ve taken, I try to break down what I find interesting and incorporate these small details into my pieces. I really enjoy mimicking things I see but transforming them on my vessels. It’s like I’m creating my own puzzles with each pot I create.

What is your favorite part of the clay process?

I really enjoy the drying/trimming process, I get to play with the surface. I’ve recently been working on creating bubble letters, carving into the vessel's surface is where I play most besides underglaze. Creating that raised texture has given me the ability to play more with letters and motifs.

What is your favorite glaze/glaze combo/surface decorating technique/material?

My favorite surface material is underglaze! My absolute favorite colors are chartreuse, turquoise and bright yellow. I just love the ability to blend and make ombré with any color but mainly yellow and chartreuse.

What valuable lessons have you learned along your artistic journey that you wish you knew when you first began?

Truthfully that rushing the process shows and the more you try to finish a project the more cracks start to show. I’m still constantly learning about patience with the material. Any stage of the process rushed especially glazing, just try to give yourself space to have certain steps done so that it doesn’t feel like you are on a countdown.

If your work was a musical genre, what would it be?

That’s tough i feel like my work has many genres, but if my work had to be just one genre it would be alternative pop! A few songs that come into mind are Roll (Burbank funk) by The Internet, Pop! By Adana Duru, Trouble by Kari Faux, and Funnything by Thundercat.

Do you like to listen to music or podcasts in the studio? If so, do you have a playlist or favorite musician, or show you'd like to share?

A podcast I absolutely adore is Ologies with Alie Ward! She makes learning so fun and covers so many topics! The last one I listened to was about murals and street art with Conrad Benner.

What's next for Brooke? Shows? Markets? Etc?

I’ve been doing markets and have been keeping my eye on certain cup shows. As of now I’m steadily moving into a new studio so hopefully soon I can make more work.

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November 2024 Staff Highlight: Brooke Felix

Get to know Brooke!