About Andy
Andy Boswell is a second-generation potter based in Sugar Loaf, New York and specializes in fine porcelain forms with crystalline glazes.
Andy’s father, Ray Boswell, brought him into the pottery studio at an early age and immersed him in the American Folk Art Pottery tradition. Skill, efficiency, and attention to subtle, ergonomic details shaped his foundation. From 2003 to 2007, he studied ceramics at the Rochester Institute of Technology, learning under Julia Galloway, Rich Hirsch, and Liz Howe. These professors deepened his appreciation for both the enduring beauty of historical ceramics and the expressive potential of contemporary art.
In 2007, Andy launched his career in ceramics. Two years later, a chance friendship with Phil Hamling, a ceramic engineer, opened new doors into the chemistry of crystalline glazes. Together, these influences—the folk art of his father, the fine art of his professors, and the scientific rigor of a ceramic engineer—form the three pillars of Andy’s creative journey and continue to fuel his curiosity as a lifelong learner.
As a focused professional artist, Andy’s work ranges from classic mugs to intricately carved vessels. You can find it in an array of places, including his mother’s own Bostree Gallery, local to NY, the Charlie Cummings Gallery in Gainesville, Florida, the Pewabic Gallery in Detroit, Michigan and others. He has exhibited at the prestigious Smithsonian Craft Show in Washington DC, the always delightful New York Renaissance Faire, and has frequently appeared at the ACC Show in Baltimore, Maryland. Online sales from Etsy have included Europe, Australia and Asia.
As a small time teacher, Andy is committed to fostering community and sharing knowledge. On the topic of Crystalline Glazes, he has lectured to smaller groups like at SUNY New Paltz, large audience ball rooms like NCECA, online global audiences through Clayshare.com and through pre-recorded tutorials on his website. Typically, the knowledge of new innovations in something like crystalline glazes would be closely guarded trade secrets, but that is not in line with Andy’s values. Learning, sharing and doing go hand in hand. If one is missing, the other two suffer.
While running his studio, Andy has also put in considerable effort to share all of what he has learned with the community. He gives workshops, provides classes and has created comperhensive video tutorials sharing his techniques. In March of 2023, Andy will even be giving a lecture at NCECA, which is the largest and most prestigious ceramics conference in the world. Andy believes that being a potter is one of the most difficult ways to make a living and desperately wants to make it easier for the next generation.
With this desire to be a creator, an innovator, a teacher and a leader in the community that he loves, Andy realized that he simply could not do it all alone. In 2023 he ended his 15 year run as a solo artist, dissolved his business Kaolin Tiger Studios and created Boswell Studios.
Simply put, Boswell Studios is a bigger and better business that can move more quickly and have more to offer. With a team of other skilled artists, and the use of slip casting to compliment Andy’s skills on the potter’s wheel, Boswell Studios will be able to offer a wider product line, more frequent restocks, more video tutorials and more advanced explorations into the glaze research and the creative forms they are put on. Andy hopes that Boswell Studios can be an example that aspiring potters can follow, and in time he is hoping to have tutorials that cover every aspect.
Hopefully, we can get make it easier for more people to get involved in this wonderful community. Whether it is so that they can have a new creative outlet in the serenity of wheel throwing or as thriving professional artists, we hope to help lead the way.