I'm Katy (she/her) and I'm a part-time potter and full time art history nerd working in Madison, WI. I took my first pottery class in high school and my love of the art has only grown in the years since. I'm drawn to utilitarian forms and focus largely on making pieces that can be used in everyday life, usually at the table. I'm always experimenting with new decorative techniques and working to expand my knowledge of clay and glaze.

For my own part, art and labor history are a way to connect with the tapestry of human experience. Both subjects uncover a past often obscured by faulty ideas of great individuals without whom progress would not be possible and reveal instead systems of collective and cumulative skilled efforts and cultural exchange through which advancement was possible.

As one of humanity's earliest inventions, ceramics has existed throughout history in a variety of different ways with examples across virtually every culture. People have molded clay to occupy almost every facet of human life, from utilitarian uses such as storage and tableware to religious and cultural iconography. It has been viewed as cheap and pedestrian relative to other arts at times, and at others held up as an example of some of society's finest artistic achievements. Through clay the thread of the past always runs, and in its creation and use is a ritual shared with at least 20,000 years of humanity.  

  "Bread and Roses" is an idiom that grew out of the intersection of labor rights and women's rights activism in America in the early 1910s. It centers the needs and demands of workers: that the work one does should provide enough for one's basic needs and leave time and resources enough that workers can pursue that which brings them joy.  More than 100 years later, this phrase is still of utmost relevance to the goals of labor struggles around the world, and is a reminder of the world we aim to win as an international collective of working people. In choosing a name I wanted something that reflected my values and emphasized the human experience. As a proud union member and labor history enthusiast I was drawn to this simple phrase which contains the dreams and aspirations of working people. We have the world to win!