Kim Blais is a ceramic artist in Coeur d’Alene, Idaho, working under the studio name Kim’s Clay.
Kim first worked with clay at age eight in Eugene, Oregon. Although many years passed before she returned to making pottery, she stayed interested in handmade ceramics and the work of other artists.
In 2017, a hand-building class at Emerge brought her back to clay. She soon set up a home studio and began working daily. Kim now works mainly in wheel-thrown and hand-sculpted stoneware, making bowls, vases, mugs, flowers, hearts, playful fish, and other functional and sculptural pieces.
Kim applies all of her glazes with brushes rather than dipping the piece. That brushwork accounts for much of the color variation and detail in the finished surfaces.
Her work draws on a life that includes anthropology, education, motherhood, travel, and years spent working with Guatemalan artists and craftspeople. Kim has also been a scuba diver since she was fifteen, and those early experiences underwater continue to influence her sculptural fish.
Kim wants her pottery to be touched, used, and enjoyed. Her work is sold at Emerge and Jungle Relics in Coeur d’Alene, at seasonal markets, and in this online shop.