Meet Zuzka Vaclavik and Kyle Jones | Painter and Ceramicist for Zuzka Vaclavik Potter for Kyle Jones

We had the good fortune of connecting with Zuzka Vaclavik and Kyle Jones and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Zuzka and Kyle, can you walk us through the thought-process of starting your business?
I have a painting background and my business partner has a ceramics background. About four years ago, I decided to take a pottery class where I met Kyle Jones, the ceramics instructor at a local pottery studio, whom I started the business with. Our strengths and weaknesses balance each other out very well and we decided that working together could benefit the both of us and the quality of our work. We wanted to share our vision of making artistic, high quality pottery with others and that’s how our business was born.

Can you open up a bit about your work and career? We’re big fans and we’d love for our community to learn more about your work.
What sets us apart is that my business partner and I come from two different disciplines or backgrounds. We both have over ten years of professional experience in our respective fields of painting and pottery. Because of our different backgrounds, discussions in our studio are very lively and interesting as we approach both artistic and technical problems from various angles. Our definition of success is the quality and artistic strength of the work we make and that is never easy because we are always aiming to make better and better work. Thankfully, we have each other to bounce ideas off of and inspire the other person. Along the way, I have learned more patience. Working in ceramics is different than painting in that the failure rate is unpredictable and higher due to the nature of the process, such as unexpected impurities in products, the weather, drying, kiln firing mishaps etc. We want people to know that we are always striving to create better and more interesting art. We are innovators and we dedicate ourselves to the work itself above all else.

Let’s say your best friend was visiting the area and you wanted to show them the best time ever. Where would you take them? Give us a little itinerary – say it was a week long trip, where would you eat, drink, visit, hang out, etc.
We would take our best friend down Buford Highway and find interesting, international restaurants to eat at. Since we both love to cook and eat, we would make a trip to the Buford Farmer’s market and pick up some fabulous ingredients to cook with later. Afterwords, we would visit the High Museum of Art and many of Atlanta’s Contemporary Art Galleries for some visual inspiration. In the evening, we’d go watch a show at 529 in East Atlanta Village, where my business partner plays shows with his band.

Shoutout is all about shouting out others who you feel deserve additional recognition and exposure. Who would you like to shoutout?
Our Shoutout is dedicated to Annie Morgan, who has been generous enough to let us use her garage as a workspace/studio and has also encouraged us to follow our vision.

Website: www.theslyrabbitgallery.com www.zuzkavaclavik.com www.spencerkylejones.com

Instagram: @theslyrabbitgallery @zuzkavaclavik @ceramicsvaclavik