About
Kristen Easters grew up in eastern North Carolina, and migrated to western North Carolina in the summer of 2011. It is the beautiful Blue Ridge mountains where she fell in love with the rich culture of Appalachia and made roots in the vibrant town of Asheville, NC. This is where she attended college and discovered the art of wood fired ceramics. From the first time she partook in a class anagama firing, she was immediately enamored by the process of continuously stoking and creating a rhythm with the kiln and collaborating with other artists towards the common goal of firing as a team. She graduated from UNCA with a BA in ceramics in 2016 and served as a resident artist and instructor at Odyssey Clayworks in Asheville from 2017-2022 teaching an array of ceramics classes for adults and children in addition to art therapy classes for veterans and young adults in recovery.
Kristen has continued igniting her passion for tending the flames since graduating from college through engaging with many different outlets and communities practicing the humble tradition of wood firing. Some of these places include Penland School of Craft and Arrowmont School of Arts and Crafts. She has also traveled to participate in firings in different parts of the country from Vermont to Montana. Kristen was a steady member of Josh Copus' firing crew after graduating until 2022 when she relocated to northern California to pursue an artist in residence program at Cobb Mountain Art and Ecology Project under the tutelage of Scott Parady. All of these experiences have been invaluable to her growth as an artist and trajectory in life.
Kristen recently moved to the bay area in 2024 to pursue her Master's of Fine Arts at San Jose State university where she is currently a candidate in their Spatial Art program.
Kristen’s functional wares strive to embody a sense of visual harmony between form, utility and atmospheric surface. Her work enriches the daily lives of their users through fostering an appreciation for the handmade vessel, community through sharing thoughtfully prepared food and intentionality in the moments we stop to fulfill our basic human need to nourish our bodies and sense of well being.
Her figurative work is currently where she draws the most inspiration creatively, and she is working on honing her skills in learning to sculpt the human form during her time in grad school.