Since 2006, 16 Hands has had the honor of presenting the work of fine craftsmen

from around the country in our biannual studio tour.

Guest Artists

Fall 2024

Chris Gryder

Guest of Hona Knudsen and Josh Manning

Chris's path as an artist has been based primarily on form-making. First at Tulane School of

Architecture, then at Arcosanti while working with Paolo Soleri in the Sonoran Desert. His focus

on clay was nurtured while earning an MFA at RISD. He has maintained his artistic practice for

the past 25 years, developing public artworks and commissions, as well as promoting work

within the art market.

JoeFrank McKee

Guest of Ron Sutterer

I am a studio potter residing in the beautiful Great Smoky Mountains of North Carolina. I enjoy

participating in art festivals around the country and organizing the Western North Carolina

Pottery Festival, a yearly event in NC. I create a wide range of work, from the low-fired

Horsehair, Raku and Fumed families to high-fired functional pieces for everyday use. I strive to

create pots that appeal to a wide range of people and that reflect natural scenes in an abstract

and contemporary way.

Beatriz Gutierrez

Guest of Sarah McCarthy

Beatriz Gutiérrez González grew up in the island of Tenerife, Spain. Her journey with clay began in Scotland at age 28 and continued when she moved to America to study at Penland School of Crafts in 2010.

In 2018 she built a wood kiln at her home in the Blue Ridge Mountains in Bedford County, Virginia.  Her work is available at her studio.

Hanna Traynham

Guest of Abby Reczek

The rural Blue Ridge Mountains shaped my interactions with the world and my artwork. I grew up closely observing natural growth patterns and cycles of transformation. I am inspired by intricacies of organic growth and structures of decay. I draw from sources as diverse as the rigid lace-like skeletal remains of a leaf and the fluid movement of water or flame. My ceramic sculptures refer to the asymmetrical balance of nature, imperfection and impermanence.

I alter soft clay forms with curves that are gestural and inviting, balancing full form with skeletal voids. In the wood kiln, the accumulation of wood ash accentuates these voluptuous forms with colorful flashing marks and textural variations. From the prolonged and volatile atmosphere of the kiln, each piece emerges exhibiting nuanced surfaces and dramatic geologic distortions.

Wood firing has informed the evolution of my aesthetic. The altering and intricate carving in my work requires patience, attention to detail, and serves to ironically and joyfully contradict the anticipated vagaries of firing with wood.

I deliberately push my material limits. Seeking out avenues of the unexpected, I explore the thresholds of materials and processes. Merging refined skill with contingent systems affords compelling opportunities for continual transformation and growth.

Steven Summerville

Guest of Wendy Wrenn

My determination with my pots is to personally make a strong line of functional work either hand built or thrown with appropriate tools. 

I combine my research in slip trailed earthenware from 17th century England with my affinity for bright colors. 

This produces a body of work centered in tradition and always functional, modern and playful. 

Since beginning my own work in 1980, my influences are art history, archaeology, animation, dance and nature.

Kristen Swanson

Guest of Ron Sutterer

Lovettsville, Virginia studio artist and educator, Kristen Swanson, has had her hands in clay since 1991. Kristen has been teaching ceramic art to children and adults in her community through her personal studio and classroom, White House Ceramics Studios, since 2001. Kristen exhibits her unique porcelain art locally and nationally and sells her work around the globe. She lives and works in her home studio in the heart of historic Lovettsville, Virginia with her husband and three sons.