About this episode
Dawn Klinger is a graduate of the University of Arizona with a Bachelors Degree in Fine Arts focused on Ceramic Sculpture. Dawn has been working with clay for 30+ years, beginning in her freshman year of high school, where she fell in love with the medium. Pursuing art was not her original goal but as she began taking classes in college the positive feedback and support from her professors led her to realize, this was where she felt most at home. Dawn began her career in the early nineties teaching art and participating in art festivals in southern Florida, finding success in her ceramic sculpture and fulfillment teaching ceramics to a variety of populations. Dawn took a break from pursuing this path in 2003 to raise her children but always kept her hand in the medium. In 2015, after a move to southern Oregon, she decided to take her sculptural background in handbuilding and apply it to functional ceramics. From there, Tagliaferro Ceramics was born. Working out designs in her garage, over the course of a year Dawn created the initial pieces that would form the base of her dinner and serving ware collections. In 2016, Dawn partnered with a local woodworking company to open a boutique in Ashland, Oregon featuring her ceramics and his northwest hardwood cutting and serving boards. The pair were naturally aligned with simple, organic style focused on letting the material speak and minimizing embellishment. Tagliaferro is named after Dawn's maternal grandfather. Most of Dawn's childhood was spent in the care of her grandparents and it was by her grandfathers side, at his basement workbench, that she learned to create with he materials around her. The concept of family and sharing food together is at the core of Tagliaferro Ceramics and she choose the name to honor hers. Dawn continues to evolve the business, creating a website in Feb. 2019, running the Ashland boutique and most all, refining and creating new designs in her creekside studio.