Melissa Weiss

Melissa Weiss is a ceramicist in Asheville who founded SouthSide Studios in 2013 as a shared workspace for about 20 artists. She creates functional ceramics from wild clay dug on her land in the Arkansas Ozarks, finishing pieces with celadon and ash glazes in a gas reduction kiln.

Melissa Weiss makes illustrative, functional ceramics from wild clay dug from her land in the Arkansas Ozarks. She works between two places: SouthSide Studios in Asheville, which she founded in 2013 and operates as a shared workspace for about 20 artists. Her process begins with screening field clay and mixing it with feldspar and sand, then pouring the liquid clay into screened racks where water drips out over weeks. She throws, pinches, and constructs slabs, finishing them with celadon and ash glazes in a gas reduction kiln. Her work strives to illuminate the sweetness and fortitude of humanity, inspired by all people fighting for liberation and a just world.