Experimentation | Noam Rosenberg | Episode 634

Kabir Syed started his ceramics practice 23 years ago, studying with Kirk Mangus and Eva Kwong at Kent State University, following a year teaching English and living in Gwangju, S. Korea. Kabir started throwing while simultaneously training in Mental Health Counseling. Dealing with painful trauma and the darker side of the human spectrum compelled Kabir to engage in the meditative and therapeutic process of making wheel thrown functional ceramic pottery, simple forms for use on the table/in the home. Kabir was introduced to wood firing and clay making at the same time and the immersion into atmospheric firing and ceramic exploration was established. In 2004 Kabir attended a month long International Wood Fire Residency in Goshogawara, Japan, working with artists from the USA, Canada, South Korea, Greece, Spain, and Japan. While Counseling full time and teaching part time, Kabir found time to complete 2 week-long intensive summer workshops every year and managed to sporadically make pots and wood fire at least 2-3 times a year. In 2011 Kabir decided to pursue an MFA in ceramics, which he completed in 2014. Also that summer he participated in a workshop at Peters Valley firing the large anagama there under the direction of Simon Levin and Bruce Dehnert. As full time Associate Professor in Pan-African Studies, he currently maintains a studio practice at Ohio Ceramic Supply and fires a local wood kiln with a group of Ohio artists at least 4-5 times a year. In the years since getting his MFA, he has moved into mold-making and slip casting as well as electric firing. The experience of seeing the commercial end of the ceramic process is slowly, but surely, becoming an area of intrigue and wonder.