Today we’d like to introduce you to Ashley Howe.
Hi Ashley, can you start by introducing yourself? We’d love to learn more about how you got to where you are today?
Art has been the central driving force in my life for as long as I can remember. I began as a painter and collage artist, and during my first year of college I discovered clay—a material that immediately felt both grounding and expansive. For many years after, I returned to ceramics off and on through community studios, classes, and shared spaces, always keeping clay in my creative orbit.
Around 2010, I began working more intently with ceramics. I bought a wheel, set it up at home, and spent years experimenting, learning through trial and error, and firing work at local community studios. That slow, hands-on exploration laid the foundation for my practice.
In 2018, I took a leap of faith with an opportunity to spend a handful of months in Bluff, Utah, where I got to wake up to the vast desert landscape with wide open days to explore this craft deeper. Through a series of fortunate connections—including a generous college instructor who helped fire my work—Urban Earth Ceramics was born. When the pandemic hit, I committed fully to ceramics as my livelihood and never looked back.
After returning to Asheville in 2021, my business truly took off. Asheville’s vibrant and supportive arts community helped me grow through local shops and connections, allowing my practice to flourish into the full-time studio work I sustain today.
We all face challenges, but looking back would you describe it as a relatively smooth road?
The road has definitely not been smooth. When ceramics was a hobby, it was pure joy, but once I realized I wanted to wake up every day and do this with my life, the challenges became very real. One of the biggest early struggles was figuring out how to survive financially while building a business. That meant gig work, side jobs, and hustling in whatever ways I could to make ends meet.
In the first few years, I also said yes to everything. Yes to long hours, late nights, and opportunities that paid little but felt necessary at the time. I said yes to every opportunity that came my way—even ones I would absolutely turn down now—because I was still learning what it meant to run a sustainable creative business.
Commission work, in particular, was a major learning curve. While it was flattering and exciting to have people reach out because they loved my work, I quickly realized how stressful that model was for me and how misaligned it felt with my creative process. Those experiences made it clear that commissions were not the direction I wanted to continue in.
Looking back, every challenge and every “yes” that should have been a “no” became an essential learning moment. Those experiences helped me clarify my values, streamline my workflow, and intentionally shape a business that supports both my creativity and my well-being.
Thanks – so what else should our readers know about your work and what you’re currently focused on?
My work focuses on ceramic surface design. I create functional ceramic pieces that are hand-painted, with each piece treated as a one-of-a-kind canvas. I’m known for bold color, geometric patterning, and a modern, playful aesthetic.
My distinctive style grew out of necessity. When I returned to ceramics in 2017 after traveling and moving around for a couple years, I didn’t have access to a full studio or large glaze setup. I began working almost exclusively with highly pigmented underglazes because of my very small living space–underglazes are sold in tiny 2oz jars, so I could have a full spectrum of coloring agents without the bulk of large glaze buckets. That limitation pushed me toward experimentation—painting, carving, and layering color directly onto the surface—and ultimately shaped the visual language I continue to use today.
What sets my work apart is this combination of resourcefulness and intentionality. Every piece reflects a hands-on, experimental process, resulting in functional pottery that is expressive, vibrant, and unmistakably my own.
What’s next?
My plan is to continue building on my current creative path—designing and making functional ceramic pieces meant for everyday use. I’m deeply motivated by the joy people share when they tell me about their favorite mug or a piece they use daily or gift to someone they love.
Looking ahead, in 2026 I’m excited to expand my surface designs beyond ceramics and bring them onto other functional home goods. I’m currently exploring new processes, such as screen printing and digital design, as a way to translate my visual language across materials.
I hope to make time to teach more classes in 2026, focusing on surface design techniques for clay, and sharing the tools and approaches I’ve developed over years of experimentation.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://urbanearthceramics.com/
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/urbanearthceramics/?igshid=OGQ5ZDc2ODk2ZA%3D%3D
