Rain City Clay's 1 Year Anniversary!

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Rain City Clay celebrated its One Year Anniversary this April!

On April 1st, we hosted an open studio event with wheel throwing sessions, a station to decorate giant clay raindrops, along with snacks and beverages for people to enjoy while they socialized and explored the studio! We had a great turnout of new people eager and excited to try clay, in addition to friendly familiar faces who came to support this grand milestone.

We hosted three, 1.5 hour, free try clay sessions! Our skilled instructors walked participants through throwing a simple cylinder on the wheel. With 16 people per session, we welcomed 48 curious clay participants! We met new faces from near and far - it was great to connect with our surrounding neighborhood community and reach those from neighboring Seattle cities. It was also fun to see current and past students bring their family and friends to share their love of clay with them.

Deb Schwartzkopf crafted 3 big raindrop sculptures for people to decorate with underglaze.

Anika Major & Joe Wilkinson decorate the raindrops

These will be fired in the Soda kiln and hung in the RCC Practice Room!

It was great to have representatives from the Washington Clay Arts Association at the event to talk about their fantastic organization. The WCA connects clay artists across Washington State through educational, professional, and social events.

We gave away some reclaim paver tiles! These special garden paver tiles are made with clay and glaze waste generated at RCC and Rat City Studios. They are made by RCS/RCC staff using plaster molds with designs created by various past staff and visiting artists of Rat City Studios. This tile reclaim process helps us turn what would otherwise be waste, into something beautiful!

Thank you to everyone who attended our 1 Year Anniversary - It was very special and we felt the love!

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Deborah Schwartzkopf

As a studio artist, she makes fabulous tableware that infuses life with purposeful beauty. Deb was inspired by the guidance of amazing mentors along the way. These important relationships fostered her desire to engage and build community through clay. Her adventurous spirit has taken her across the country and beyond to form a depth of experience, knowledge, and a supportive network.

In 2013 Deb established Rat City Studios in her hometown of Seattle, WA. RCS is her home and personal studio, as well as, a creative space for multiple studio members working independently. In 2022 she opened a sister studio, Rain City Clay in West Seattle. RCC is a community art center focusing on experiential learning through ceramics classes of all levels.

With over 15 years of experience, a Master’s of Fine Art at Penn State, artwork included in collections such as the Kamm Teapot Foundation, San Angelo Museum, and the WA State Arts Collection, numerous publications including Ceramic Monthly, Pottery Making Illustrated, and Studio Potter Magazine, she has been recognized and honored in her career as a maker.