Karen Hull 

Karen Hull's wheel thrown ceramic work is created with an emphasis on form and design.
Colorful slip and glaze surfaces are evocative of her love of painting and drawing. Her pieces are meant to be used, held, and loved.

Karen holds a BFA from Rhode Island School of Design and an MA in ceramics from Montclair State University in NJ. She spent many fabulous and productive years at Ruby's Clay Studio in San Francisco, CA.

Karen is a ceramics instructor at the Visual Arts Center of Richmond, VA. She teaches wheel throwing and surface design in clay. Karen has taught at VisArts since 2012 and has loved working with children, adults, and outreach programs, especially the veterans groups. She has established her own studio where she creates and fires her work. She lives in Richmond, VA with her husband and their children (passing through as young adults will!) Karen is an enthusuastic native plant gardener.

Durable clay and glazes make her work strong and dishwasher/microwave safe. Inquiries about her work can be emailed to: karenhull9@icloud.com or messaged on instagram @karenhullceramics (follow @karenhullceramics on instagram to see photos and stories about process and upcoming events!)

Her pieces are shown and available at;

Shockoe Bottom Clay, 1714 East Main Street, Richmond, VA, 23223

Outpost Richmond, 4813 Forest Hill Ave, Richmond VA 23225

Twig, 6112 B Lakeside Ave, Richmond, VA 23228

‘A mug is the most personal of ceramic pieces. You fill it with a favorite, often crucial, beverage every day. You grasp the handle, sometimes holding the mug itself, and bring it to your lips. Such an important part of your daily ritual should be breathtaking, work perfectly, and give you joy!
My mugs are hand thrown on the wheel. I'm putting energy into the clay and touching each mug many times during the process of wedging, throwing, trimming, adding the handle, firing, and glazing. All parts of a mug matter; the lip, body, foot, handle, form, weight, and glaze. Is it important that a mug is visually and aesthetically satisfying? Yes!
I adore surface design. I make my own color slips and think a lot about the look and feel of my glazes.
A mug is a technical and aesthetic challenge and it is my favorite piece to make. Personally, I prefer small mugs for coffee and large mugs for tea. The natural thermal properties of clay retain either the heat or chill of the contents of the vessel.
I especially love using mugs made by my friends, because they remind me of that person and our times spent together.