From the kitchen to the kiln, ceramic artist Amanda Zimlich from Orcas Island Washington proves that creative fire continues through careers.

Based in the USA, Amanda came to clay in 2023 after attending a workshop on Orcas Island. And what started as a side passion quickly became an obsession. After 30 years as a professional chef, she found something familiar in ceramics: rhythm, repetition, risk, refinement. The same satisfaction she once found in cooking now lives in clay… and it shows.

Amanda’s work is deeply influenced by the Arts and Crafts movement of the early 1900s – a philosophy rooted in craftsmanship, reverence for the natural world, and resistance to industrial sameness. She describes it beautifully:

“The Arts and Crafts movement is to ceramics what “farm-to-fork” is to cuisine.”

There’s intention in every piece… Seasonality. Raw beauty. Simplicity with depth.

The landscapes and wildlife of the San Juan Islands shape her visual language. Her forms carry a quiet strength, while her surfaces explore sprayed and dipped glazes that bring movement and atmosphere to porcelain. Technically, she’s pushing herself hard – refining her throwing, experimenting with sculptural texture, and taking on increasingly ambitious designs. The result is work that feels grounded and alive at the same time.

You can follow her journey on Instagram:
👉 @amanda_zimlich_ceramics
And explore more at: www.amandazimlichceramics.com

Why She Joined CRMX: The Ceramics Research and Mentorship Experience

Before joining CRMX, Amanda wasn’t “stuck” per say, she was new, at just 2 years into her practice.

She had the basics down, but was searching for her artistic voice. And living on an island, she was also looking for a ceramics community who share her love of clay. Another reason for joining was to gain confidence for a way into what she calls “the big scary world” of putting her work out there.

Before joining CRMX, her main worries about the program were the unknown… What would the mentors think? Would she measure up?

But that fear didn’t last long… because what surprised her most about CRMX was the openness – from both mentors and fellow students. The dialogue, the honesty, and the generosity inside our weekly meetups is a continuous conversation which is now something she says she doesn’t think she could function without.

Growth in Real Time

Amanda knew she was growing when both the quality and the quantity of her work started accelerating:

“By going through these structured projects – I began documenting my process and my ideas, which was new to me… and as a result, the quality and quantity of my work is quickly improving“

CRMX structured projects pushed her to document her process: something she had never done before. That shift alone helped to change her work – ideas stopped floating around in her head and started becoming intentional bodies of work. But the biggest transformation wasn’t technical… It was mindset.

CRMX unlocked confidence to experiment and to fail-forward, and now she now fails on purpose. She takes more risks. She chooses more challenging designs. She enjoys failure. Since joining CRMX, she has experienced new opportunities, new exhibitions, and sales.

What could be improved with CRMX?

The schedule is spotty. It would be helpful to have a full schedule of classes and topics before the quarter starts so that I can block the class times in my schedule and plan accordingly. I want to attend all class sessions! 🙂

We’ve taken Amanda’s comments on board, and now the weekly schedule for our upcoming projects are set beforehand – with days, times, and topics available to see. As this is a brand new program, we are still improving it week by week.

What CRMX Means to Her

Amanda describes CRMX as a place for:

• People seeking community
• Beginner potters
• Makers looking for alternatives to traditional classroom learning
• Artists who want dialogue, not isolation

And she’s honest about who it’s not for:

• Those wanting rigid syllabi
• People expecting traditional academic structure
• Artists looking only for advanced technical challenges

Her verdict?

“It’s low risk. You have nothing to lose. Try it for a quarter.”

A Mentor’s Perspective

From where we sit, Amanda is doing the real creative work.

She hasn’t just said she’s interested in the Arts and Crafts movement – she’s gone deep. She’s run a huge number of glaze tests to chase those earthy, historic tones and textures. Test tiles, layered applications, sprayed surfaces, dipping variations. She’s treating glaze development like recipe development in a professional kitchen…. And that’s where her chef brain shines. She experiments. Adjusts. Refines. Tests again.

She’s not afraid to mix, tweak, and push until she finds something that feels right. We’ve watched her develop new glaze combinations and then deliberately design new forms specifically to showcase those surfaces. That’s a big shift – thinking about form and glaze as a conversation, not separate decisions.

We’re genuinely impressed by her willingness to experiment and by the way she’s building her own glaze vocabulary. And she’s not just copying recipes, she’s creating them, testing and developing them across multiple layers and multiple firings.

We can feel her confidence starting to translate into the work. It’s becoming cohesive, intentional and distinct. Overall: she’s cooking up something special in clay and we are excited to see how she develops.

From Amanda:

“My journey in ceramics began in 2023 after attending a workshop on Orcas Island. Moonlighting with clay swiftly grew into an obsession. Now, after 30 years of a professional career as a chef, I experience the same satisfaction in clay as I have for many years cooking food.

My work is markedly influenced by the Arts and Crafts movement of the early 1900s. This movement’s philosophy embraces craftsmanship, highlighting the natural world and resisting the impersonal stamp of industrialization. It is to ceramics as “farm-to-fork” is to modern cuisine. The movement’s framework, highlighting raw beauty, seasonality and simplicity with intention makes my transition from food to clay appear not quite so random.

I am currently pursuing a Mastery of Ceramic Arts with The Ceramic School of Feldkirchen, Austria, where I am learning from and with ceramic artists from all over the world in a new Ceramics Research & Mentorship Program. Leveraging the expertise and coaching of my artist mentors, I am currently focusing on perfecting throwing techniques with porcelain and developing unique spraying and dipping glazes for my work.

The landscapes and wildlife of the San Juan Islands serve as my muse as I experiment with sculptural designs and textures. I created Owl Hollow Studio at Otters Pond in 2024 as an outlet for my pottery. I invite you to stop in to Otters Pond Bed and Breakfast and shop my showcase by the entry way, make an appointment to visit me in my garage studio, come stay at Otters Pond Bed and Breakfast, or shop my website! I look forward to sharing my art with you.”

“When I first joined CRMX, I was brand new to ceramics. I had only started working with clay in 2023 after a workshop on Orcas Island, and what began as moonlighting quickly turned into a full obsession. After 30 years as a professional chef, I realized I was feeling the same kind of satisfaction in clay that I’ve felt for decades in the kitchen. But even with that passion, I was still trying to figure out my voice and how to step into the big, scary world of putting my work out there.

Before joining CRMX I was a bit unsure – what almost stopped me from joining was the unknown. I didn’t know what the mentors would think of my work. I didn’t know if I was ‘good enough.’ Was I the right fit for an online ceramics MFA alternative? That vulnerability is real when you’re just starting out.

What surprised me most about CRMX was the openness. The mentors and students are incredibly generous with their ideas, feedback, and encouragement. There’s a continuous dialogue that pushes you forward each week, and I genuinely don’t think I could function without that kind of exchange anymore.

One of the biggest shifts for me has been working in structured projects. Before CRMX, I wasn’t documenting my ideas or my process. But now I write things down, I plan, and I reflect. That alone has completely changed how I approach my practice. I’ve also seen a noticeable improvement in both the quality and the quantity of my work over the last 2 projects, and that’s when I realized I was really growing.

The biggest transformation, though, has been my mindset. I have more courage now. I’m not afraid to fail, in fact, I try to fail on purpose now by choosing more challenging designs. I take risks I wouldn’t have taken before. Failure feels productive instead of discouraging.

CRMX has unlocked confidence in my own work. It’s made me hungry for growth and exposure to new ideas and new settings. I’m constantly inspired by the people around me.

Has CRMX been worth it so far? Absolutely. For what you receive – the technical resources, the mentorship, and the community – it’s incredibly affordable. It’s perfect for people looking for a network, for beginners, or for anyone who wants something different from traditional classroom learning.

It’s probably not for someone who needs a rigid syllabus or a highly structured academic environment. But if you’re curious, if you want dialogue, and if you’re willing to experiment and grow, then it’s a great fit.

If someone reading this is hesitating, I’d say this: it’s low risk. You have nothing to lose. So just try it for a quarter and see what you think.”

You can follow Amanda’s journey on Instagram:
👉 @amanda_zimlich_ceramics
And explore more at: www.amandazimlichceramics.com

Are you ready for more creative growth?

Amanda’s story is actually pretty normal for CRMX…

She joined unsure. She wondered what mentors would think. She wasn’t sure if she was “ready.”

But she showed up anyway. And that’s the difference.

CRMX isn’t a rigid academic program with rigid syllabi and grades. It’s not about grades, or writing exams, or pretending you’ve got it all figured out. It’s about doing the work, experimenting, making work that’s yours. Talking about the work, getting feedback, and trying again to keep developing and improving.

It’s structured enough to push you, flexible enough to let you be you, and honest enough to actually help you grow.

So, if you want:

• Real conversations about your work
• Projects that make you stretch
• Mentors who actually care
• A global group of potters who get it
• More courage in the studio

Then CRMX is probably for you… You don’t need to be advanced. You don’t need to be confident. You don’t need a perfect portfolio. You just need to be willing to experiment and not hide.

If you’re curious, try a quarter. That’s it.

Head to www.CRMX.ac and come join us.

Stop overthinking it and let’s get to work.