Wild Clay: The Raw, The Refined, and The Toxic

Wild Clay is an exploration of the raw materials that shape our world—clay, rocks, metals, and minerals—and the creative processes that transform them. Featuring the work of artists, scientists, and researchers, this exhibit investigates the deep connections between material, place, and human interaction. From the unpredictability of locally dug clay to the historical techniques of The Tile Works in Doylestown, PA, Wild Clay highlights both the challenges and possibilities of working directly with the earth.

The exhibit delves into the science and history of clay while also confronting its dangers. Wild Clay’s artists examine the toxic legacies of materials like lead, the environmental degradation of sites like Lake Cahuilla in California, or the Wallkill River in the Hudson Valley, and even the overlooked potential of poison ivy sap as lacquer. The exhibition’s structure is inspired by haibun, a Japanese poetic form, with small ceramic objects serving as visual punctuation throughout the gallery.

Through experimentation, research, and collaboration, Wild Clay invites us to reconsider our relationship with natural resources—challenging us to see the land not only as raw material but as a source of knowledge, resilience, and artistic discovery.