Meet Ava DeCapri Studio Manager at Tao of Clay
Ava DeCapri is Studio Manager at Tao of Clay and teaches our Intro to Hand Building course. With a background in industrial design and years running her own studio, Ava blends utility, craft, and thoughtful design in everything she makes.
Her work focuses on daily rituals, mugs, teapots, and tableware that are both functional and beautiful, highlighting the natural beauty of clay while exploring the balance between hand and tool. At Tao of Clay, she guides students, supports members, and keeps our communal studio thriving, all while continuing to experiment and grow as an artist.
Hi Ava! Give me a quick blurb about you! Who is AVA DECAPRI!
Hey! I’m Ava, Studio Manager at Tao of Clay, and I teach the Intro to Hand-Building course:) I've been doing ceramics for as long as I can remember - I took some classes at our local art center when I was very little in the town I grew up in (I think I made a bust of a monster for my first project), and was always drawn to making things that people could use. I studied industrial design in college and worked in 3D printing and manufacturing for a while. It was chasing that same feeling of making something people interacted with daily. I spent most of the time on the computer at my job and was looking for that hands-on connection with materials and making objects, so in 2015, I joined The Potter’s Studio in Berkeley, CA, and really got hooked on pottery as a hobby after work and on the weekends. In 2021, I quit my job and built a little studio and secret alley shop called Trapdoor in the Chicago Suburbs, where I dove into small scale production of my pottery full time. At Trapdoor, I sold my own pottery and also ran a shop and gallery for other small batch artisans. It was a great experience, and I learned a lot about what I wanted to do with my life - making things by hand and connecting with people. I moved to San Diego in 2023 with my partner, Nico, who is from here. I found Josh’s studio on Instagram (!), and he invited me to tour. We hit it off, and I started helping him realize his vision for the communal studio about a year before he opened Tao of Clay. Oh, also I love to cook- it's my happy place! I'm vegan and love to chat vegan things if you're down for that. When I'm not doing pottery, I’m out in nature - at Mission Hills on a hike, biking, or walking the neighborhood. I am deep into fiber arts and have a knitting machine! Its kinda crazy.
What themes do you find in your work? What makes you tick!?
Themes I find in my work are a focus on daily rituals - I'm very inspired by the idea of someone using my work daily and the power that a handmade object can imbue in a simple and mundane thing, such as drinking tea or eating a meal. I often use metal and machined tools in my work, and I like to find a balance between showing the hand and the tool. I make a lot of my tools for replicating forms from brass sheeting. I find I like the repetition that comes with small-batch production, as it pushes me to improve my skills more and more with each cup I throw. A theme of my work would definitely be utilitarian-leaning forms that come from production - using tools to make the process more manufacturing-adjacent. I am fascinated by the small differences that come out in the replication process. Even when you are attempting to replicate a piece, there will always be differences and little organic moments. I think I like ease in the process and in the form. My forms tend to be heavily rooted in basic geometry, as I use simple tools composed of arcs and lines. Proportion is everything. Less is more. My aesthetic is a real mashup of midcentury modern and the Apple 90s aesthetic in terms of my influence of form - I grew up with 2 architect parents and studied industrial designers like the Eames’ and Dieter Rams. I think you can see the influence of "less is more" and basic geometry in my forms, which derives from this fascination with that era of design. Striving for classics that stand the test of time. A huge part of my ethos that drives the work is a reverence for the material. My pieces always highlight the beauty of raw clay. I want to remind the user, and myself that the material is the core of the thing. I use resist a lot in creating graphics on my wares, where the graphics are in the clay itself. The color and texture of the clay are the ornament. I find meaning and renewed interest continually in the balance between the natural textures and color of the clay and the influence of the tools, whether a wheel or a rib. It always comes back to my reverence and joy with the material - I just find clay to be so beautiful and am always getting schooled by it. it is so poetic - it is literally the earth beneath us. I'm drawn to it again and again.
Your Trapdoor Studio work blends utility and personal expression. What motivates your approach to making functional wares?
I am motivated by the connections I form with people who use my stuff. I think the best compliment is someone saying they use my mug every day. I personally enjoy using handmade things, as it adds a layer of gratitude to what you're doing. It makes me reflect on how much goes into a cup - the material sourcing, the person who makes it - there are so many steps for such a humble object, and I think we can easily lose sight of that. I think a lot of people are craving that connection to each other and to the things that surround them, so I like being in the middle of that process. Being a part of a long line of craftpeople - people have made ceramics since humans were around, pretty much - it's moving to me to be a part of that lineage. I think the line between expression and utility is a blurry one - I think even the line between functional and non-functional is blurry as well. I enjoy when I get to make functional wares because it is more constrained - it gives me a box to create within - it has to hold water - it has to be comfortable in your hand. I often follow a path that is the simplest and most obvious to me, only to arrive at the end and realize it is a very expressive and creative way of approaching the problem. I often approach the process as a designer - what does it need to do for the user, what is the most efficient and honest way of making this? And in the end I find that creativity and ornament sneak through. It is human.
How did your background in industrial design influence the way you work with clay?
I like to approach the process as a designer, looking to understand what the most honest process is that honors the value and traditions of the craft, honors my hand, and is designed to be replicated and small-batch manufactured. I think that even when I am not going to manufacture that piece or make many of them, I am drawn to thinking this way, as it simplifies the form and the process so that I can focus on making it function well and be a well-made thing. Even though I've been throwing and making for quite a while, I still know I have a lot of skill to gain in throwing and making, so I am always designing the process so that I can practice basic skills like throwing, control of form, and control of drying. I have a sketching practice that plays pretty heavily into what forms I end up making. It is kind of a back-and-forth with sketching and making that feels familiar. It is also funny to me that a lot of CAD programming feels similar to processes used in ceramics. For example, rotating a sketch around an axis to make a solid form is similar to throwing or extruding a shape along another sketch, called a sweep in CAD, is similar to extruding using a die. I think my brain is wired to look at these processes that way.
How do you protect your own creative time while running studio operations and programming for others?
Honestly, it is hard. I used to throw all day, every day, and there was a point where my body didn't like that -I was wearing out my body and got tennis elbow. I found it important to vary the types of tasks I did when I ran my own shop and studio, and the same is true now. I like throwing in the morning and doing computer things at night. I am taking this year off from production to really find my voice in pottery again. I was selling my tableware at various small shops around the country and sort of lost track of the skill-building and experimentation I was hoping to do alongside production. To balance my studio operations with my own craft, I am working to schedule non-negotiable time at the wheel and have reevaluated what is important to me so that I can really focus when I do have time at the wheel. The reality of being an artist is that most of us have a day job, and this is a great one! I learn so much every day about the craft from members and staff alike. I am working to be better at guarding my time with the practice, as I can easily get sucked into the operations, which I also find deeply satisfying and fulfilling!
What’s the most satisfying part of your journey as an artist so far? And what has challenged you the most?
I think the most satisfying part is actually seeing my skills improve after a long time at the craft. There is so much that you don't know when you start, and it is really fun to think about all the weird things you were doing when you didn't know any better. I also think I came up with some really awesome processes and techniques when I had no idea what I was doing. I try to keep that energy in my work, not relying so much on YouTube or trying to know what I'm doing up front, and by following my intuition and experimenting. I think what has challenged me most is trying to make a living making pots and pricing my work. It is a fun challenge and one that I actually enjoy, but one that I am still trying to navigate. I know how much time and skill go into a simple item that is mundane to many, so it's been interesting navigating how to sell my work - it's nice to see the whole process through from start to finish, harvesting clay to making the thing to selling the thing in the complete cycle of an object. It's rare that one person gets to touch all parts of an object being created and sold, and I really enjoy that, but selling has been the area that I have the most to learn. It's still interesting to me, though - it's a way of connecting and communicating value that I find interesting.
How does teaching inspire and affect your work?
When I'm teaching, I'm able to really reflect on what I'm doing in a different way than when I'm making for myself. It helps me clarify what makes the process work in a way I wouldn't identify if I were just doing it for myself. I always get ideas for making when I'm teaching, which can be frustrating because that time is not for making, it is for being available to help with all the students' work and guiding their process. It is inspiring in that it distills what sparks joy for me in the process. I find myself spending the most time on that part that I personally love when I'm teaching, going into more detail. There are so many ways to teach and so many ways to build. I see good teaching as being able to show how I do something and be inspiring in that way. I always learn different ways of approaching the technical building part of the process because it is human nature to do things differently from the next person. I don't necessarily change the way I do things from observing someone working in my class, but I always learn more about the nature of clay and how it likes to move, join, and be formed. That is always inspiring.
Are there any artists who are inspiring you right now?
I'm really into Tosha Jagad’s work right now. I've been wanting to push my nerikomi work into a new space - working tighter and cleaner and maybe bigger. Her work is gorgeous and really highlights the beauty of clay to me. I'm almost like, why even do this anymore, cuz she did everything I already wanted to do - just kidding, but she's so great. She makes functional things that are also ornamental and sculptural, blending handbuilding, molding, and throwing so seamlessly. I think her forms are really iconic, both timeless and trendy. On the throwing side of things I'm really into Super Ceramics, Jaques Monneraud, and always Florian Gadsby. I took a workshop with the couple who run Studio Aluvium on foraging wild clay and love both of their work.
What are you currently experimenting with in your work? What’s next for you?
On the ambitious side, I'm experimenting with larger scale nerikomi, furniture, and lighting this year. I'm continuing to improve my throwing and have a goal to throw every day - making the same forms as usual, mugs, teapots, jars. I will probably be returning to making bongs and pipes this year, which I have a lot of fun throwing and assembling - it's like a teapot in its construction and very fun and challenging to get the fit right for the function to perform well. I am very interested in getting better versed in wild clay and in processing it. I have been working with Olla Ceramics and Golden Earth Studio to source and reclaim clay that is considered a waste product from construction sites. If you know of any construction sites with clay, small or large amounts, send me an email!
To stay in touch with Ava, follow her work at @trapdoor_studio or attend
one of her handbuilding courses