#MadewithaBailey Interview with Cheyenne Mallo

Cheyenne Mallo

Instagram: @cheyennemallo
Website: www.cheyennemallo.com

1. What are some of your favorite things about working in clay?

I never get bored! Those of us working in clay know that there are endless possibilities. The desire to try every possible iteration of an idea keeps me living in my studio. 

2. How did you get started working in clay and when did you know that it was something you wanted to pursue professionally?

My career in clay began with the consumption of copious amounts of Play-Doh as a small child. After graduating to the to the less delicious Sculpey in my teens, I made the move to a more traditional stoneware clay body in college (I am now married to Standard Clay’s 213 Porcelain).

I studied printmaking and ceramics during my time at the University of Wisconsin-River Falls. I knew then that I wanted to pursue a career in the arts, though it wasn't until moving to the Hudson Valley in 2011, and becoming immersed in the art community at the Women's Studio Workshop, that my path moved more seriously towards ceramics. Something clicked for me when I made the transition from using maps in my printmaking to applying them to functional ceramics. In 2015 I made the push to start exhibiting my newly developed body of work, and haven’t looked back since!
 

3. Which Bailey products do you use to make your work and how do they help?

All of my throwing is done on a Bailey Pro-X potters wheel. I throw standing up (my wheel is lifted on cinder blocks for ergonomic reasons). The one-piece Counter Pan allows me to feel anchored while throwing. Plus, it is incredibly easy to clean! I also use a Bailey Mini Might Table Top Slab Roller. The compactness of the tabletop slab roller fits the flexible needs of my studio space. Last but not least, most of my pieces are fired in a Bailey top-loading electric kiln. 
 

4. What’s a tool that you could you not live without?

The first tool that comes to mind is my small red Sherrill Mud Rib Tool. I use this tool at almost every step in the process from throwing, to trimming, and even for applying silkscreen decals to leatherhard pots. 

5. What inspires your work?

Other artists! I find it incredibly inspiring to see what other potters are doing to develop their work, and how they choose to articulate their artistic ideas aesthetically.  

The map imagery I use on my pottery is inspired by the sense of adventure I have discovered during my hiking explorations (primarily throughout the Hudson Valley).  

6. When you’re not creating ceramics, what do you enjoy doing?

If I’m not in my studio, you will probably find me either hiking a mountain, cycling, or playing ultimate frisbee. Anything to get out and enjoy the outdoors!

7. What are you excited to try next in the studio?

This summer marked my first trip up to the Adirondacks, which for me justifies incorporating maps of that area into my work. I’m super excited to start putting maps of the Adirondacks on my pots! I’ve also just developed a new “night hike” series, which involves using a solid black background, with light slip trailed map lines. I’m looking forward to seeing how my existing map designs, and new ones, will translate and pop on the dark background.