Thanks to Angela Smith Kirkman for being our January 2025 Meet the Member. Angela lives in Santa Fe, New Mexico.
How did you first get interested in clay?
I started doing pottery when I was 18, my first week in college. Though I majored in Romance Languages at Colorado College, I spent every spare moment in the pottery studio. From the beginning, I was captivated by the sensation of clay in my hands—working with clay has always been my way of grounding myself, a kind of “mud therapy” that continues to bring me joy.
Describe your studio.
Paseo Pottery is my happy place. I’ve been part of this studio for over 22 years. It’s warm and welcoming, and I love coming here. This studio is full of some of my favorite people on earth. When we come together in the studio, our workdays are done, and we’re all here by choice, enjoying our free time, catching up, making art, learning, laughing—sometimes crying—aways in full expression of what it is to be human. It’s such a joyful place.
Describe your “work.”
For the first 30 years of my clay journey, I specialized in wheel-thrown rustic dinnerware and production pottery fired to cone 10 in gas reduction. I love harvesting my own clay and knowing that I have the ability to form a handful of earth into a vessel that I can use to feed loved ones. I love imagining that—maybe just maybe—hundreds of years from now when that vessel lays shattered on the ground, returning to the earth, the sight of it might still bring joy to some future being. Most recently I am enjoying delving into more exploratory work—big-ass wheel-thrown pieces as well as more experimental hand building and sculptural work. I’m still a cone 10 gas reduction gal, but I’m also enjoying a deep dive into alternative forms of firing, such as wood, Raku, and saggar.
Vessel fired with Naked Raku method by Angela Smith Kirkman, photo by the artist.
Saggar-fired vessel by Angela Smith Kirkman, photo by the artist.
Describe work you do that promotes “clay community."
Paseo Pottery has been part of the art scene in Santa Fe for over 30 years and thrives on a spirit of giving back. Run largely by volunteers, Paseo is more than a creative space—it’s a hub for connection and service. On the first Friday of each month, we host a Pottery Throw Down inviting different local nonprofits to come in and play in the mud with us. It’s our way of saying THANK YOU! to all of the nonprofits working to make Santa Fe a better place. All proceeds from our Pottery Throw Downs are donated to charity, and thus far we’ve donated over $100,000 and hosted over 40 local nonprofits. We’re so proud of this contribution, and we love sharing our passion for clay with those who may never have had the opportunity to experience the healing power of clay.
When you are not working in your studio, what do you enjoy?
When I’m not in the studio, I’m generally helping my husband with his business, Tumbleroot Brewery and Distillery, which is HIS happy place. Or I might be at Tumbleroot Pottery Pub, our newest location and a marriage of our two businesses. Or maybe I’m out in my garden, or on a hike, or hanging out with my kids, or perhaps with my girlfriends, or maybe traveling somewhere exotic, or just sitting by the fireplace reading a good book.
Do you play music in your studio? If yes, what do you listen to?
Oh yes, there’s always something playing in the studio. Generally whoever’s managing the studio that day or teaching a class gets to choose the tunes, so on any given day it can be anything from classical to emo to punk to metal to salsa to Reggaeton to Ani di Franco to French language lessons or maybe just some good old rock-and-roll.
What other pottery do you have in your home?
One of my favorite moments of every morning is standing in front of my cupboard—PJs and tousled hair—picking out a mug for my morning coffee. My cupboard is full of mugs and tumblers made by a dozen different artists, and I love each and every one of them.
What caused you to join NMPCA? Describe involvement with NMPCA.
Joining NMPCA was recommended to me decades ago by my guru, Mike Walsh, who founded Paseo Pottery in 1991 and is still a huge part of our studio. I’ve been a member for years, and I always look forward to receiving the NMPCA newsletter and hearing what’s going on in the in greater New Mexico clay community. Clay attracts a community of good people. I’m happy to be part of it.
Photo of Angela Smith Kirkman, supplied by the artist.
