Ariana Stein

BIO

Ariana Stein is a potter and ceramic artist from St. Louis, Missouri. She spent a few childhood years in Hungary, and spent the majority of her upbringing and adult life in the midwest. She graduated from the University of Kansas with a BA in Ceramics in 2022. Ariana relocated to central North Carolina in 2023 where she was an intern and resident at Starworks Ceramics, a nonprofit specializing in local clay and materials research. She currently lives and works in the historic center of Seagrove, NC, the largest pottery community in the United States. She is a resident at The Triangle Studio and apprentice to Kate Waltman. Ariana has exhibited work in galleries and shows across North Carolina, Virginia, Georgia, Kansas, and Missouri.

Artist Statement

When I make pottery, I seek to educate myself on a culture I am slowly forgetting. I grew up between the US and Hungary, a child of immigrants. I was surrounded by a culture that placed much pride on pastoral customs, traditional craft, and folklore. After spending my teenagehood and adult years in the American Midwest, ceramics has become my outlet to continue growing in my Hungarian identity. This manifests in my work though Hungarian folk imagery.

My decorative patterns depict floral motifs and birds, the two most common patterns found in Hungarian pottery. I paint my designs with colored slips in an organic, flowing fashion similar to folk styles of eastern Hungary and Transylvania. The composition and symmetry of the designs have elements of art nouveau. While my decorations draw directly from Hungarian folk art, the process correlates to my education in American pottery. I started my ceramics journey at the University of Kansas and was introduced to wood and salt fired pottery. After graduating I moved to North Carolina and have been working there for over a year. The folk traditions of Appalachia and abundance of craft in this region has pushed me further into traditional processes of ceramics. I use local clay bodies, and fire my work to cone 10 using salt-glazing techniques. I gravitate toward blue, white and iron brown colors indicative of 19th century stoneware. The resulting look is almost medieval but clearly modern, and adds to the whimsical quality of my pieces. My culture and identity is a mixed experience. How fitting then, to find a middle ground in two separate folk styles, creating something new in the process. 

Exhibitions