Is It Flowers You’re After?

Written By Wild Vessels Ceramic Fine Art
 
 

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Wild Vessels Ceramic Fine Art

BIO

Ashley Banegas is the artist behind Wild Vessels, a practice rooted in resilience, transformation, and gathering. Based in the rolling hills of Asotin County, Washington, she continues her relationship with the Carbondale Clay Center, where she first deepened her ceramic practice during an artist residency.

Her journey toward becoming a professional ceramic artist has been a lifelong pursuit, shaped by her upbringing in a small Pennsylvania town. From an early age, Ashley immersed herself in the arts through her high school art club, experimenting with pastels, colored pencils, acrylics, and mixed media. These early explorations established her love for bold, expressive hues and eclectic surface play—qualities that remain present in her ceramic work today.

Equally formative was her time spent in nature at Tayamentsachta Environmental Center, where she participated in the Earth Keepers Program. Observing wildlife and seasonal rhythms instilled in her a respect for the natural world that continues to inform her artistic vision. This reverence for cycles, transformation, and connection is central to Wild Vessels.

Ashley’s work blends technical building processes with playful experimentation, embodying both elegance and edge. She describes clay as both container and compass, a material that carries memory, intention, and possibility. Her vessels are designed not only as functional objects but as companions to daily life—pieces that invite gathering, spark conversation, and honor the lineage of craft.

As she establishes her home studio and deepens her roots in the Pacific Northwest, Ashley remains dedicated to creating work that bridges tradition and imagination. Through Wild Vessels, she aspires to craft objects that enrich everyday living while resonating with collectors, curators, and all who value the beauty and meaning found in handmade art.

Artist Statement

Clay is a vessel for story. Each piece I create—whether a finely thrown bowl, a hand-built sculpture, or a large-scale installation—emerges from the belief that objects carry memory and meaning. My practice is rooted in the intimate, everyday rituals of eating, drinking, and gathering, yet it extends into a wider inquiry: how do the objects we choose to live with shape our lives, our relationships, and our communities?

Through Wild Vessels, I explore ceramics as both form and metaphor. A cup is not just a cup; it is an invitation to pause, to connect, to notice the texture of the present moment. A platter becomes a stage for shared meals and shared stories. Sculptural works push beyond function, embodying ideas of containment, protection, and transformation.

My process is intentionally slow, guided by the raw tactility of clay and the rhythms of the natural world. I lean into imperfections, embracing the fingerprints, subtle variations, and elemental traces of fire as markers of authenticity. These qualities echo the human experience—fragile yet resilient, ordinary yet profound.

At its heart, my work is about gathering. The vessels I create are made to be held, shared, and lived with. They are offerings—bridges between the functional and the sacred, the personal and the communal. Through clay, I seek to cultivate presence and belonging, reminding us that beauty resides in the objects and moments that hold us together.

Becoming Wild Vessels

https://www.wildvessels.net
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