Join Donte for a chat with Cory Brown (@corybrownceramics) and Stephen Creech (@creechoftheeast) of AMACO Brent. There’s talk of the behind-the-scenes of product development, wading through glaze mysteries, and dream projects for these ceramics nerds. Thank you so much Cory and Stephen for taking your time to chat with The Mud Peddlers! _____ About Your Hosts Lindsey M Dillon is an award-winning professional ceramic artist who makes mugs and creature sculptures inspired by history, folklore, and...
Jun 16, 2025•1 hr 1 min
Donte walks Lindsey along his road busting some myths about mocha diffusion. There’s talk of viscous fingering, authority figures and critical thinking, and curiosity. Have you ever tried mocha diffusion in your work? P.S. This video was recorded a week ago, so Donte’s video should be out next week, and Donte’s patrons should have early access now! _____ About Your Hosts Lindsey M Dillon is an award-winning professional ceramic artist who makes mugs and creature sculptures inspired by history, f...
May 20, 2025•52 min
Donte chats with Jim Skutt and Chad Stewart of Skutt. Yes. That Skutt. There’s talk of firing best practices, the future of ceramics education, some really impactful new projects coming down the pipeline, Donte’s ultimate kiln feature wish list…and the definitive answer to how many peep holes to leave open during a firing. What would you have asked Skutt if you were sitting with Donte in this episode? Tell us in the comments or tag us @earthnationceramics or @lindseymdillon. Find out what’s new ...
Apr 30, 2025•1 hr 11 min
Lindsey interviews Donte about his recent experience at NCECA, or the National Council on Education for the Ceramic Arts. There's talk of new clays, celebrity meetups, how Donte managed his social battery...and some ceramics world royalty he got to meet >_> If you didn’t go to NCECA, were there any shared stories from the event that inspired you? If you went to NCECA, what’s a favorite memory from the event? Tell us in the comments or tag us @earthnationceramics or @lindseymdillon! _____ A...
Apr 22, 2025•1 hr 1 min
It’s finally here. Head to Clayscapes and get yourself Donte's new glaze. _____ About Your Hosts Lindsey M Dillon is an award-winning professional ceramic artist who makes mugs and creature sculptures inspired by history, folklore, and geek culture. They have been working in clay since 2007, and doing so professionally since 2014. Their supernatural powers haven't manifested yet, but it's ok, they’ll wait. Donte of Earth Nation Ceramics is a professional ceramic artist and Youtuber with over 100...
Mar 27, 2025•54 min
Lindsey and Donte answer a question from listener @salnevarez_art about how to know what materials are going to become unavailable, and how to go about replacing an ingredient when it does. There’s talk of UMFs, glaze calculators, and way, way too many baking metaphors. Do you have a burning question for The Mud Peddlers? Send it to Lindsey at lindseymdillon@gmail.com . _____ About Your Hosts Lindsey M Dillon is an award-winning professional ceramic artist who makes mugs and creature sculptures ...
Mar 18, 2025•59 min
Lindsey and Donte chat with Sue McLeod, a giant in the online ceramics education world. There’s talk of transitioning to full time ceramic work, creating a marketing approach that meets your needs, and how non science majors can experience an inviting approach to glaze chemistry. Donte also finally gets to ask Sue his burning questions about iron oxide… What has your exposure been to glaze chemistry? Are you good to go with what you have, or are you still looking to scratch that itch? Follow Sue...
Mar 04, 2025•59 min
Lindsey and Donte chat with Ben Carter – host of Tales of a Red Clay Rambler, founder of The Brickyard Network, and general artist and podcaster extraordinaire! There’s talk of how Ben got into clay and podcasting, how he’s made his career work for his mental and financial health, and why it’s important to “look at the footnotes”. Plus, some of the most inspiring advice you could ask for. Mentions: Winnie Owens-Hart : Her book is forthcoming, but not yet available for purchase Patty Warashina Fi...
Feb 11, 2025•53 min
Lindsey and Donte return after a break for the first episode of 2025! They chat about the highlights and lessons learned from 2024, as well as what 2025 has in store. There’s talk of changing work/life balances, glaze development, new classes, new glazes, the upcoming NCECA clay convention, and how to bring a little bit of Star Wars energy into your life. What’s one success you can celebrate from 2024, big or small? Let us know in the comments (if you're listening via Youtube) or send us a messa...
Jan 28, 2025•52 min
Lindsey and Donte chat about their experiences working with local businesses as another way to get their work out there. From pros and cons to best practices, these mud peddlers hope their stories will help you decide whether and how to tap into this part of your local creative economy. Have you ever sold your work through a local business? What’s some advice you might share with someone thinking about doing the same? Let us know in the comments (for those of you listening via Youtube) or send u...
Dec 10, 2024•45 min
Lindsey and Donte put together a list to help out with holiday gifts for clay people– whether you have a clay person in your life, or you are the clay person in your life. From classic quality-of-life picks to some potentially surprising suggestions, these mud peddlers hope you can find some inspiration in this holiday medley. What’s one of the most helpful gifts you’ve ever received, ceramics-related or otherwise? _____ About Your Hosts Lindsey M Dillon is an award-winning professional ceramic ...
Nov 26, 2024•53 min
**Election Day is Nov. 5th! Go to Vote.gov to find your local polling place and do a democracy!** Lindsey and Donte discuss the many ways you can use sculpture to expand the way you decorate your functional ware (whether wheel-thrown or hand-built). There’s talk of clay types, sculptural techniques, and how you might avoid some common pitfalls – as well as some trickier territory like pursuing representative vs. abstract work and pushing yourself out of a creative rut. Do you incorporate sculptu...
Nov 04, 2024•54 min
**Do you have your voting plan? ^_^ Grab a buddy and participate in democracy together (then go get some ice cream or cake or some cheese, cuz you deserve it ;) ) Check your voter registration and find your polling place at Vote.gov** Lindsey and Donte introduce you to bentonite, a common ingredient in glaze-making. From basic traits to baking analogies, these mud peddlers do their best to explain what bentonite is and what it does to your clay and glazes. What ingredient do you want to meet nex...
Oct 08, 2024•33 min
Lindsey and Donte chat about SacAnime Summer: the good, the bad, and the gross – gross income, that is… There’s talk of table positions, the price of goblets, and the never-ending challenge of figuring out what fandom to focus on. How do you evaluate your experience selling at an event? Do you sit down and write things out, have a discussion with friends…? Tell us in the comments or tag us on the socials! P.S. If you enjoyed this episode and want more details about Lindsey's experience, you can ...
Sep 24, 2024•59 min
Lindsey and Donte sit down to reflect on their experiences with Patreon. What’s been working? What have they changed? How can Patreon be useful for more than the income? They also dive into their perspectives on creating free community content vs content that’s behind a paywall, and what they want to bring their members in the future. What do you think is the best way to balance sharing free vs paid content online? What appeals to or repels you about how creators approach this topic? _____ About...
Sep 10, 2024•1 hr 12 min
Big episode. Bigger career shifts. Biggest lessons learned. Join Lindsey and Donte for the 100th episode of The Mud Peddlers for where they’ve been and where they’re going. What’s your clay journey like been so far? Where would you like to go next? Drop your thoughts in the comments, or send us a message @earthnationceramics or @lindseymdillon Join Lindsey and Donte for the 35th Anniversary show at Alpha Fired Arts in Sacramento, CA on Saturday August 17th from 5-7pm. _____ About Your Hosts Lind...
Aug 14, 2024•1 hr 33 min
Lindsey and Donte do their best to define the tricky thing that is heatwork. What is it? What things affect it? Why is it making Lindsey crave cake? They also talk about a big business development for Donte. Curious for more information? Check out Sue McLeod’s blog about heatwork and pyrometric cones and Glazy’s article about heatwork: https://suemcleodceramics.com/do-you-put-witness-cones-in-every-firing/ https://help.glazy.org/concepts/temperature/ *CORRECTION* In this episode, Donte and I tal...
Jul 23, 2024•43 min
Lindsey and Donte talk about some of the things that might not seem ceramics-related, but actually make an impact on us in the studio. From the fear of small, irregular holes to EV’s, these mud peddlers have plenty to talk about… What non-clay thing has had an impact on your clay journey in terms of inspiration or tools? Drop your thoughts in the comments, or send us a message @earthnationceramics or @lindseymdillon Referenced Resources: For Flux’s Sake (https://open.spotify.com/show/6jgiddm9KnL...
Jul 02, 2024•53 min
Lindsey and Donte introduce you to a few of the ingredients that make up a glaze. From talk of why Lithium isn’t just an Evanescence song to why you shouldn’t try and order “Rio” from your local clay store, they hope to give you a better understanding of these arcane ingredients that make glazes so dang pretty… Have you ever looked at a glaze recipe and felt overwhelmed? What ingredient/material would you like us to introduce next? Drop your thoughts in the comments, or send us a message @earthn...
Jun 18, 2024•1 hr 5 min
Lindsey and Donte talk about how to describe the skills you have in ceramics in language that goes on a resume. From keywords and imposter syndrome, to business English and code-switching, these mud peddlers have a lot to debate when it comes to describing what they do all day. Have you ever put your ceramics skills on a resume? Do you find it difficult to write in “business speech”? Drop your thoughts in the comments, or send us a message @earthnationceramics or @lindseymdillon _____ About Your...
Jun 04, 2024•1 hr 1 min
Lindsey and Donte are havin’ a week. So while they wait for the coffee to kick in, they chat about what’s been occupying their minds recently, from the wildly unpleasant to the gloriously sublime. And like every geek these days, they’re spending some time talking about Baldur’s Gate. Join them at the 25:10 mark to skip the life updates and get to the classic clay content, where there’s talk of world-building, glaze chemistry, and production plans. How you doin’? Is life treating you well? What’s...
May 21, 2024•52 min
Lindsey and Donte go over the questions they ask themselves before agreeing to sell at an in-person event. It’s great to live in an area with lots of event options, but it can be hard to decide which one will be worth your valuable time and effort. While being a vendor is always a learning process, these questions are here to help you narrow down your options (and hopefully avoid some painful bumps on the learning curve). What are your “green flags” that make you want to say “Yes” to an event in...
May 07, 2024•41 min
Lindsey and Donte chat about how they handle goals with multiple timelines. There’s talk of monetary investments vs time investments, risk tolerance, saving mental energy, and working with what makes your brain tingle. What’s the main way you get your sh*t done when you’re juggling multiple goals? Drop your thoughts in the comments, or send us a message @earthnationceramics or @lindseymdillon _____ About Your Hosts Lindsey M Dillon is an award-winning professional ceramic artist who makes mugs a...
Apr 23, 2024•58 min
In this blast from the past, Lindsey and Donte chat with Becca and Ryan from Wheel Talk Podcast in the NCECA 2023 Podcast Room. Have you ever been to an NCECA? Drop your thoughts in the comments, or send us a message @earthnationceramics or @lindseymdillon _____ About Your Hosts Lindsey M Dillon is an award-winning professional ceramic artist who makes mugs and creature sculptures inspired by history, folklore, and geek culture. They have been working in clay since 2007, and doing so professiona...
Apr 09, 2024•1 hr 7 min
Lindsey and Donte chat about a few of the different kinds of paperwork they’ve dealt with as professional artists. From the different tax forms to contracts and what counts as a business expense, these Mud Peddlers give an overview of some of the most confusing parts of being a working artist. What was the most confusing part of getting your business started? What’s the most intimidating part of selling your work in terms of the paperwork that goes along with it? Drop your suggestions in the com...
Mar 26, 2024•56 min
Lindsey and Donte chat about Donte’s big life news, and what his experiences and learning moments have been at his new teaching gig. There’s talk of age factors in teaching, politics in the classroom, and why it’s important to teach the “why” along with the “how”. Do you have a burning question about teaching you’d like us to discuss? Drop your suggestions in the comments, or send us a message @earthnationceramics or @lindseymdillon _____ About Your Hosts Lindsey M Dillon is an award-winning pro...
Mar 12, 2024•47 min
Shinos and celadons and tenmokus oh my! Lindsey interviews Donte about some of the most famous glazes you’re likely to hear about in the ceramics world. There’s talk of when and where they come from, what makes them unique, and why they’re different from the bottled glazes of the same name you can buy today. Is there a historical topic within ceramics you’d like us to talk about in the future? Drop your suggestions in the comments, or send us a message @earthnationceramics or @lindseymdillon ___...
Feb 28, 2024•40 min
Lindsey interviews Donte in this low-key chat about his solo adventures at ClayCon West. There’s talk of crowd sizes and artist talks, expectations and infrastructure… And why there might be a new Hogwarts-style sorting ceremony to be had. Do you like going to big festive events? Or do you gravitate towards those that are more small and low-key? Tell us in the comments or tag us using @earthnationceramics or @lindseymdillon _____ About Your Hosts Lindsey M Dillon is an award-winning professional...
Feb 13, 2024•35 min
Lindsey and Donte chat about their experiences at their first event of 2024! There’s talk of navigating price changes, successful and failed plans for inventory management, creating an efficient booth setup, avoiding wifi struggles, and what to do when there are just some things that are out of your control. Oh, and what these mud peddlers think of the new 18+ “Degenerate Alley”. Is there an event in your area you’d like to sell at? What’s your favorite event to attend, either as a seller, or at...
Jan 31, 2024•1 hr 10 min
Lindsey and Donte look forward into 2024. There’s talk of taking care of our bodies, the fun to be had while procrasti-planning, and why Donte just can’t stop experimenting with glazes. What are you most looking forward to in 2024? Tell us in the comments or tag us using @earthnationceramics or @lindseymdillon _____ About Your Hosts Lindsey M Dillon is an award-winning professional ceramic artist who makes mugs and creature sculptures inspired by history, folklore, and geek culture. They have be...
Jan 02, 2024•44 min
