🌖🪼 meet our wonderful teachers!!🪼🌖
Chai (they/she) is a local East Bay ceramic artist with a background in numerous crafts and influenced by their studies in social sciences. They grew a knack for clay during the pandemic and got quickly swept away into the ceramic medium and its nuances.
This year they transitioned out of the community studio into a personal studio to further their practice.
Chai’s love of fantasy and magic, the wildlife of the Pacific Coast, and other collected interests influence the visual aspects of their work. And as ceramic work is transformed through the kiln firing, Chai reflects on how their life has similarly been transformed after falling in love with clay.
follow @chaideestudio and come take a class with them!!!
first photo by @leemlipps
✍🏼 on my mental health last year:
I was dealing with low self esteem starting at the end of 2024, eventually snowballing into major depression and anxiety. I grew up coming in and out of episodes along with life’s punches, so it wasn’t abnormal, but I’ve since recovered! In my situation, adjusting mindset and medication helped a ton. Like, I feel my resiliency strengthening, perhaps the ups and downs of the ceramic process taught me this.
The turning point for me was getting evaluated and diagnosed with ADHD. My inner thoughts are loud and memories jumbled. Brain soup, if you will. I often felt ashamed for not being able to make out what someone was saying and forgetting what someone just told me.
The diagnosis helped me see the bigger picture of how my ADHD contributed to daily challenges, and to forgive myself for what I couldn’t control. Often people are kind enough to repeat whatever I didn’t catch, and half the time the hyperactivity leads to hilarity!
Anyways, I look forward to exploring all the ideas I’ve had stewing for this new year. Like, what if I did a blog post reviewing all the clay bodies I’ve tried? Or made a small library of clay and glaze samples for people to look through at the store? So many things…🐴
What an absolutely wild weekend at @westcoastcraft ! I got to see a lot of familiar faces, some who I haven’t seen in ages, and also got recognized as a ClayPerson 🫣. I also loved sharing the process and evolution of my newest body of work, “The Bug Collection”.
Thanks to all who came and all who wanted to come! It meant a lot to get accepted into a big event. New things are intimidating 🥲 but I’d absolutely do it again with even more wares (and more preparation months ahead of time, lol).
I plan to list all my remaining inventory on my online shop ready before the holidays, with local pick up and shipping options. Then it’s time to hibernate 🥱😴, and I will start production in the new year.
Thank you @westcoastcraft for having me!
#westcoastcraft #wcc2025 #bayareaartist #bayareaartists #eastbayartist
Surreal!
West Coast Craft Winter 2025
Fort Mason Pavilion
Saturday + Sunday
10am - 6pm
Also thank you @songofbones for adopting my first tooth sculpture! 👋🏼
🗣️ Find myself selling ceramics, and my friend @heymoonface selling vibrant prints and stickers, at WCC Winter 2025!
We will be at booth B2! Which is in the first aisle, on the right hand side. I’m excited to present a few oxen that I have refined across the past few years as well as new experimental work as I get into surface design (here are some work in progress photos).
Hope to see you there! And thanks to @natandrewson for the adorable illustration for the event 🥹.
Finally making use of a cup with brush holder that I made in my first ceramics class, in 2021! I’ve transitioned to using vinegar or a 1:1 ration with water for joining fresh clay and it smells so good 😌.
Did you know? I decided to move studios again this past August to better focus on my practice and have more control over drying. Getting set up and comfortable in a new space ALWAYS takes longer than I think! I’m really happy with the new layout and the stuff I’ve been crunching on, because…
My friend Millie (@heymoonface ) and I will be sharing a booth at West Coast Craft in a few weeks! Biggest event we’ve ever done! The event info is in my bio and official announcement will be shared soon. Tag along to see my newest work.
Hope to see you there!
#potterystudio
🌼TGIFFF!🌼thank god it’s First Friday Featured!
🎨: @chaideestudio
ALLOW ME TO INTRODUCE YOU TO THE ONE AND THE ONLY CHAI RAWITHIWAKUL!
“I grew up in Albany, CA. And began taking ceramics classes at Laney College during the pandemic, when college was briefly free! So I say I started in 2021 but then started practicing seriously in 2022.
To create for the sake of creating and remaining present throughout the process is healing, in many ways. It has aided me in getting stronger, become more confident, and led me to meet wonderful people I otherwise wouldn’t have.
I am inspired by things I find wonderful, and always on the lookout for things that create that feeling. Like animal shaped vessels from hundreds of years ago or a tiny teacup. So a lot of my work is the culmination of my “little joys” that I want to share with others.”
Chai’s work is not just medicinal in the making; their ceramics act like a salve for space— possess a remedial quietude. Described as “whimsical chic” and “solemn & keen,” Chai’s work feels mystical, ancient, and serene.
📸: @lee.lipps
A foamy crusty guy (teacup) that reminds me of mineral stains on rock surfaces and also beach when the water froths and recedes.
Something I noticed only recently is the oilspill-like sheen where the matte and shiny portions meet.
#woodfiring #woodfired #woodfiredceramics #woodfiredpottery #ceramics #pottery #teaculture #yunomi
Another neat one with a deep grey with ochre-ish blooms. This is one of a few “frosty” pieces from last fall. It’s fun to run your fingers over the surface to feel how the glaze transitions from matte to glossy 🫨.
#woodfiring #woodfired #woodfiredceramics #woodfiredpottery #ceramics #pottery #teabowl
Here is a woodfired bowl from my personal collection that I fired last fall. I’m really satisfied with it! I love the cool grey crescent moon sitting in the crackling green pooled in the center of the bowl. And the contrast on the outside of the light crystals on a dark grey background, and the reverse on the inside.
I don’t recall the name of the glaze, it was likely a celadon, but it just had a splashing on part of the inside and nowhere else, everything else is the atmosphere and ash deposit. The wonders of atmospheric firing!
#woodfiring #woodfired #ceramics #pottery #danishwhite #danishwhiteclay #lagunaclay @lagunaclay
A cavity-ridden tooth with gold filling, made for Sophie! Largely a decorative piece, the tooth’s divot serves as a trinket tray for small items.
—
Dimensions: 6 x 6 x 9 in tall
Cone 5 B-Mix with Grog
Fired at @claypeoplerichmond
#ceramics #ceramicsculpture #sculpture #trinkets #trinketdish #trinketbox #trinkettray #homedecor #tooth #toothcare #teeth #teethcare #dentalcare #dentist #dentistry #goldluster
