Member Spotlight: Kay Tse
Welcome to our Member Spotlight series at Tao of Clay where each month, we celebrate the unique voices, creative journeys, and artistic styles that make up our community.
For founder Josh Herman, ceramics has long been more than a medium, it's a way to explore ideas, express ourselves, grow through making and connecting both through and connection. In this series, we introduce you to one member’s personal story, process, and inspirations so we can all learn from each other and deepen our understanding of not only our clay practice but to others at The Tao of Clay and beyond. Because when we share our craft, we build more than beautiful forms, we build community.
Member: Kay Tse
Profession: I work in finance, turns out clay is more forgiving than Excel/Google Sheets sometimes.
Years working with Clay: 11 months working with the clay and no prior experience before…. all started with Throwing 1 in January this year.
1. How did you get into ceramics?
My other hobbies aren’t always accessible, so I was looking for something new that could give me that same feeling of calm and flow, but that I could do more often. Earlier this year, I took the Throwing 1 class with Tao of Clay, and I’ve been hooked since! Clay has really humbled me. It’s taught me to slow down, to be patient, and to be okay with not having control all the time. The clay doesn’t always do what I want it to, but that’s kind of the point... it reminds me to let go a little. Some of the imperfect pieces end up being my favorites!
2. Tell us more about the dog slow feeders you're making.
I started fostering dogs through a local no-kill shelter called The Animal Pad. My current foster dog, Gumbo, eats incredibly fast. It's probably because he was always starved in his previous life, so I made him a ceramic slow feeder and noticed it helped him slow down. After that, I made a few more to donate to the shelter, and it felt good knowing they could help other dogs too.
With the holiday sales event coming up, I’ve been making more of these slow feeders to sell and will be donating the proceeds to The Animal Pad. It’s going to be my first time selling my pieces, and I’m really excited! Not just to share my work, but to raise money and give back to the shelter that’s helped so many dogs like Gumbo.
I find peace in the water. When I’m swimming or diving, the way water flows through my body makes me feel calm and free. It’s like everything else fades for a while, and I can just breathe and trust that everything will be okay.
To keep in touch with Kay find her on instagram
Join us and shop Kays slow dog feeders December 5th and 6th