Kileh Friedman

I began working in clay in my late 20’s while living in Atlanta, GA. At that time, I was a cook in a coop vegetarian restaurant and a single mom of a 3-year-old son. I was looking for something creative to do with my time. I immersed myself in throwing pots, mixing glazes, making clay, and had my first experience firing cone 10 reduction kilns. I even had a chance to build a raku kiln while working as an assistant in the clay studio at Callanwolde Arts Center. It was a wonderful opportunity and grounding in the world of clay. 

 

I married in 1978 and moved with my puppeteer husband, my son, and his son to Plainfield, VT to be closer to The Bread & Puppet theater which my husband was part of. I opened my own studio in a rented building on a dirt road, which had a gas kiln that had been built there and passed on by a previous potter. There I found a rich community of craftspeople in central Vermont. I became part of a group that founded the cooperative craft gallery in Montpelier called the Artisan’s Hand. I sold my creations at craft fairs, galleries, and shops throughout Vermont. 

 

Today, I work in a small studio in a shared space in the heart of the arts district in Burlington, Vermont.