Who is Drifter Clay?
My name is Haley and I am the one woman show behind Drifter Clay. My dream job has always been to be an artist; for years I picked up and put down different art mediums searching for the right fit. I enrolled in college with the intention of pursuing film photography and quickly absorbed all the art classes they would let me take. Feeling creatively hindered, I dropped out and did some much needed traveling and soul searching. I soon found myself in the mountains of Asheville, North Carolina. This is where I took my first class in clay and needless to say, I had finally found my passion. I fell in love immediately and from that point I was hooked and spent many hours in local ceramics studios, where I got my first exposure to a local ceramic guild, which was inspiring and educational. During my time there, I worked to learn as much as I could to learn about my craft and so grateful to this day for that opportunity. That experience has fueled a dream to one day create a community around clay to help others who are as passionate as I am. After a while, my roots began to call me back down south.
Once I returned to Alabama in 2016, I bought my first kiln and had a little woodsy studio space at Rockin Tree in Leeds, a private artist's community. It was here where I practiced throwing, handbuilding and glazing and learned to run my own kiln. It was a beautiful place and I loved my time there especially as it is where I met my husband Zach, we were married in 2019 and welcomed our son Noah in April of 2020. Becoming a mom and caring for a newborn in the middle of a pandemic while finishing my Bachlor’s Degree in Fine Arts at the University of Alabama in Birmingham in the spring of 2021 somehow gives you strength and courage you didn’t know you had. I decided that selling my work wasn't so scary after all! So, I upgraded my kiln and began creating work in my home studio and through lots of trial and error, I started to find my own style and began selling locally at art shows and online. I hope to continue to grow my small ceramics business, start a community of clay and help my patrons bring beautiful functional art into their home.
Thank you all for being here and for all your support!