About
Round Trip Clayworks is a team of two ceramic artists and partners, Erika Novak and Drew Darley. The two share a studio within the Farmington Valley Arts Center, creating their own unique bodies of work.
The two began making ceramics in 2015 at Central Connecticut State University. Both Erika and Drew were pursuing their undergrads in different disciplines; Drew was studying for a math degree, while Erika was working toward an environmental geography degree. They met when taking a ceramics elective class at the university. After graduation, they opened a ceramics studio together, where they spent the following years finding their artistic voices and refining their distinctive styles.
Erika’s work heavily focuses on surface design, utilizing bold color and maximalist patterns. She pulls inspiration from craft and textures found in everyday spaces. She makes a variety of functional forms like cups, mugs, and vases.
Drew specializes in crystalline glazes and bottle forms. All his glazes are meticulously formulated and mixed by hand in small batches. Drew is inspired by form and shape while throwing on the wheel.
We also like to play
Working with clay has not only been our passion but it has become a lifestyle. We live our lives completely dedicated to our craft. Making, building, creating, and selling our artworks and building our business is everything to us. We also love that this lifestyle allows us the freedom to play and explore! If we are not in the studio you can find us traveling around in our van, getting lost, Hiking,climbing rocks, or catching fish.