Maker : Kala Stein
As promised, the last of my studio visits to talented California Bay Area makers in 2024. Kala Stein is the most productive, dedicated ceramic artist I’ve known. It’s fitting that her last name (‘stone’ in German) hints at what she does.
Kala and I met while she was leading the ceramics studio at the Sonoma Community Center. In 2022, she made the bold move to become a full time ceramic artist. She now makes both functional and fine art in her charming downtown Sonoma studio at the La Haye Art Center. Most of the work she makes is commission-based installations for homes and public spaces. I visited Kala’s studio in June and I look back on these photos in the midst of a cold and wet Netherlands winter and truly miss those sunny days.
Kala’s studio consists of two large spaces. They are dream studios, really. Her main studio, featured above, is beautifully lit from the north with huge industrial windows, an ideal lighting setup for an artist.
Every inch in the main studio is functional. Yet there is still plenty of room for the display of her ceramics, while also offering visitors beautiful hints at living the Northern California dream life. Anyone can tour her studio on the weekends, when La Haye often has their doors open to tourists. The studios are also open by appointment or chance during the week as well.
We joked that a lot of her studio has my imprint in it because when I downsized my studio from San Francisco to Sonoma it was at the same time as her renovating her space so quite a bit of my old studio furniture is living a new, and definitely better, life.
What isn’t shown enough in this studio visit is Kala’s fine art. I mentioned above about living the ‘Northern California dream life’. Well, it comes at a cost. Climate change is at the top of every local’s mind thanks to the 2017 Nuns Fire and the extreme droughts that preceded and followed. Kala documents drought, fire and atmospheric rivers in her ceramic work. One can’t get closer to an appropriate medium than working with clay, intrinsically linked to water and fire.
The week I visited was a product making week. Kala with a team of assistants makes beautiful pressed glaze ware for Chateau Sonoma among many other projects.
I love seeing makers’ tools at their most functional, abandoned on a work table like a still life. See the pieces being made in action here.
The tableware for Chateau Sonoma varies by the growing season. Kala often finds blooms that catch her eye on her walks and friends bring her seasonal flowers, grasses and branches.
I remember one trip we took up up in Howell Mountain just days after a violent wind storm. So many beautiful Manzanita and oaks had fallen and we stopped the car so she could bring some of the branches back to the studio to make molds for potential future work.
Place is a strong inspiration in Kala’s work. At the time of my studio visit, she was developing a new series of ceramic baskets inspired by azulejos found in Portugal for an exhibition, "Mediterranean Ceramics and their Global Influence," at the International Academy of Ceramics 2024 conference. The show is on view until March 2nd, at Armazém das Artes in Alcobaça, Portugal.
Before I pivot to her other studio, where her kilns live, I have to show two more nooks in her main studio, one of them her tidy kitchenette. I’m a sucker for functional but beautiful linens on display.
She also has a convenient desk space bathed in skylight featuring some of her glaze pieces that I love so much. I’m so curious about the story behind all of those glasses but I forgot to ask!
And now onto the workhorse studio space, tucked away in the back of La Haye after crossing this charming outdoor corridor that leads to the Alley Gallery.
What a luxury to have your kilns in a different room than your studio on a baking hot Sonoma summer day. I remember one day it was 116 F (that’s 46 C for my EU readers)!
Here are two kiln beauties above. And below, the giant of the studio, a Berman Kiln manufactured in North Hollywood.
Here is a close up of the Kiln Goddess that one often finds sitting on top of a kiln.
Kala hosts many workshops, including mold making and slip casting, often online, so if interested be sure to check them out. She has an in person workshop in Aegina, Greece in May of this year and registration is now open.
Thanks so much for letting me take some of your busy time to photograph your studio, Kala. I’m sure it looks very different now six months on ... so curious what you’re making in the studio this month.
And last but not least, though Kala’s kooky, lovable dog Vida stayed home the day I was visiting, I snapped a sentimental photo of Ginger, the most chill studio dog in the universe who hangs out all day at La Haye. Miss you Ginger! You are a good cheese connoisseur!
Visit Kala Stein’s website and Instagram for her latest studio adventures. Kala is currently accepting commissions from individuals and designers, via kala(at)kalastein (dot)com.
I have some Netherlands studio tours up my sleeve so stay tuned as I pivot to European makers! Please share this post with everyone and spread the word about these amazing makers.
This is much appreciated, Kathryn! To see my work/studio/practice through your words and your lens. And thank you, readers, for looking and reading! So nice to meet you here :)