Artist Overview

Elaine Karpen is a studio potter in Weaverville, North Carolina, assisted by Rai Karpen. Elaine and Rai's ceramics journey started in 2020 when a high school ceramics class became unexpectedly virtual. Private lessons for Rai quickly became shared lessons, then studio space and collaborative projects. Elaine has continued taking private lessons and added group and virtual classes as she expands her abilities with functional stoneware, wheel techniques, and handbuilding while Rai focuses on surface design. In 2021, Murder Mittens Pottery was born - a melding of Elaine’s belief that repetition is the genesis of creating art and Rai's love of geometric design.

About

Murder Mittens Pottery’s creations are driven by function first. Then inspiration from life informs the details - the quirk of a handle that’s reminiscent of a cat’s tail, colors of the local mountains, a curve like a stream eddy. They make functional pottery part of the sensory landscape by focusing on the weight of a piece, the feel of a glaze against your hand, the grip of texture, and the sounds of use as much as the color of a glaze. Every piece is handmade and unique, coordinating as they explore variations on uplifting themes.