Bill Bracker loved to mentor students even after retiring from teaching — regardless of if they had previously been his student or not. He just loved to share his ceramics knowledge and experience. One of his all-time favorites was Joe Smith. Bill met Joe when Joe was a Senior at the Kansas City Art Institute to earn his BFA in Ceramics. Joe subsequently attended Cranbrook Academy of Art where he received his MFA. He is now the Ceramics teacher at the Cranbrook Upper School and teaches his own students, mentoring the next generation of ceramic artists. Even after 30 years, the connection between Joe Smith, Cranbrook, and the Bracker family continues. In honor of that decades-long connection, we are donating the 2018 Bill Bracker Memorial Wheel to Cranbrook and Joe. I imagine that Bill is indeed smiling at his friend this year. Congratulations from all of us here at Bracker’s Good Earth Clays.

Earlier this month, we bid a bittersweet goodbye to delivery driver/clay mixer/warehouse worker, Connor Remboldt.  Connor is finishing his last year at KU in metals.  Studio time is crucial and he really needed the extra hours to make beautiful jewelry.  It was gratifying to see his work on display in KU’s Art & Design building.  You can see more of his work on his Instagram account @solar_satellite  We wish Connor all the best in his senior year and beyond.