For last minute holiday gifts, shop my booth at the Philadelphia Christmas Village or find my work in the Philadelphia Art Museum Gift Shop! All web orders placed from 12/14 to 12/31 will begin production in the new year. Thank you for all your support!
Hi there folks! I’m Cait (they/she), the director and primary potter behind Caitlin Davis Ceramics. I’ve been making things with my hands my whole life and throwing pots for the last 10 years after getting a degree in Ceramics from the Maryland Institute College of Art. I come from a family full of different making lineages that inspire me and ground me in a beautiful tapestry woven of all kinds of traditions. I hope to bring moments of joy and beauty into your daily rituals whether that’s putting on rings or drinking your morning coffee. Cheers!
Heyo everybody, my name is Ash (they/them), and I'm an apprentice at Caitlin Davis Ceramics. Fans of our Christmas Village and Flower Show booths might remember me joyfully peddling our wares.
A lifelong artist and maker, I graduated from Temple University in 2016 with a B.A. in Theatre, where I honed the crafts of collaborative visual storytelling, scenic design, hair and makeup design, propmaking, acting, directing, devising and so much more. Since then, I have made my way in expressive arts education, bringing the act of creative making to many learning spaces and young people. I feel so fortunate to be 3 years into my ceramics journey, learning from the hands and mind of my best friend, Cait.
Yep! Unless your new Caitlin Davis Ceramics piece is decorated with gold or entirely unglazed (like a brown sugar keeper) you are absolutely fine to treat it like any other mug or plate you can get from a big box store, except it’s been made with a lot more love and care.
As of writing this, I’m not currently in any stores but I’m hoping that will change soon. I will keep my Stockists page up-to-date as that changes. Any interested stores are welcome to reach out via email to cait@caitlin-davis.com for my wholesale line sheet!
It’s pretty easy to get Professor Cait to come out when you meet me at a show and so I get this question a lot. I don’t currently teach but it is a goal of mine and when I start I promise to shout it from the rooftops (aka send out an email newsletter about it so make sure you’re subscribed to my emails!)
Every piece is its own individual being. Even when I make sets, every cup and bowl feels just a little bit different in your hands. The one thing they all have in common is my care and attention to detail. I use my lifetime of experience working with my hands to translate soft earth into something as comfortable in your hands as it is beautiful. I am always expanding my collection and finding new forms that feel good so keep checking back to see what I'm up to next. I may even be at a fair or store near you!
The main thing on my mind when I make my pottery is nourishment. It is a prayer that I make for myself and the world; that the time we spend eating is a soulful and healing experience. With that in mind, I design the curves of my pieces to fit into your hands in a way that is so radically comfortable, it invites you to savor the experience and the food you eat.
In the spring of 2020 I joined a town hall meeting held by Rachel Rodgers of Society Seven where I listened to Rachel and her brilliant guests talk about creating an anti-racist world one small business at a time. I took a pledge to openly and transparently make moves in my self and my business to help dismantle white supremacy and support Black people and businesses. You can find the recording of that meeting and sign the pledge yourself here. It changed my life and I know it can change yours.
I will continuously make moves to uphold this pledge and keep you updated in my blog. My first move is to make a monthly donation of $10 or 10% of my online sales, whichever is higher to The Okra Project. This NYC based organization is working to feed Black Trans Folx in the New York, New Jersey, and Philly areas. I am beyond thrilled to support such an intimate and vital project, I am weeping with gratitude as I write this. The entire reason I make pottery is to feed people’s bodies and souls, so when I heard that this group of people is doing exactly that, I knew we were in perfect alignment.
My favorite process is wood firing. I don’t get to do it often, but when I do it’s a real treat. I love the way the clay remembers the crashing waves of fire and how there’s just no controlling what the glazes will do.
This is a two-chambered wood and salt kiln, also called a noborigama kiln. After it’s loaded, the door is hand-stacked out of bricks and the fire starts as a small campfire.
Later on in the night, the small campfire grows much larger and we feed it strategically to continue its growth in both size and temperature. Eventually, it’s a swirling inferno and those of us who tend it are exhausted, but exhilarated by the pure energy of it all.
