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Decorative table setting with a ceramic tray, small bowls, a pomegranate, dried fern leaves, and a flower, arranged for serving food or display.

EDIBLE MARIN COUNTY

Kala Stein, Ceramicist

For Sonoma-based ceramicist Kala Stein, a piece of clay pottery is much more than reshaped sediment. It is a way to connect to the land from which the clay comes, and a bridge between the people who share it.

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Close-up of wet sand and swirling water with foam and small bubbles, forming abstract patterns.

SONOMA MAGAZINE

A Sonoma Ceramicist Works With Rainwater To Explore Natural Processes and Climate Change

In 2024, Kala Stein created a large installation of an atmospheric river storm in a series of clay tiles. Part of her process includes using rain water to represent the weather effects in the glaze.

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An art gallery with a large abstract wall piece, a bench made of wood and metal, and several vases filled with colorful flowers on white display pedestals. The ceiling has exposed wooden beams and track lighting.

LIFE ICONIC

Weathering the Art World: Kala Stein’s
Thought-Provoking Work

Growing up on a farm in New York’s Finger Lakes area with “back to the land” parents shaped Kala Stein’s appreciation for the earth and set the tone for her socially conscious art.

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A woman and a dog inside an art studio. The woman is smiling, wearing a black apron, and has arms crossed, standing next to the dog. The studio has shelves with ceramics and decorative items, large windows with plant outside, and a worktable with art supplies.

CANVAS REBEL

Meet Kala Stein

I began working in clay when I was in college studying graphic design. The clay studio had the tactile quality that I missed from my childhood and was about being industrious in order to make work and solve problems that always arise from the technical side of ceramics.

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