Gallery Address and Phone

  • 115 S. Adams Street, Spokane, WA 99201 - 509-863-9904

  • Trackside Gallery and Studios are usually Open Wed - Fri. 11:00 - 5:00, but please CALL OR TEXT US to confirm.

  • Shop online: https://trackside-studio.square.site/


Trackside would like to thank all our patrons for loving clay and walking through our doors to dig through and purchase from our shelves and pedestals.

August 7 - 31 - Annual Trackside Studio Sale - All ceramics marked down 10% and many up to 50%.

Annual $30 Grab Bag Event. 3 pieces in each bag


September 4 - 30 “Handbuilt - Beyond the Wheel,” Collista Krebs- Spokane, WA., Heather Lepp - Missoula, MT, Amy Sanders - Lincoln, NB, Deb Schwartzkopf - Seattle, WA, and Zach Tate - Jonesboro, AR

An exhibit featuring 5 artists from across the United States and Spokane that work with clay on and off the potters wheel.

Collista Krebs - Spokane, WA

Collista lives and works on the North end of Spokane, Washington in the beautiful Little Spokane River Valley. She has become known and loved for the whimsy of her one of a kind animal forms, the stories they tell and for her ability to translate that energy into classes of hopeful students both young and old creating their own.

Inspiration for my work often comes from the animals and organisms that cross my path while in nature and the little stories that my imagination whips up as I walk. I am not committed to 1 type of clay or firing style; I enjoy trying it all and this body of work represents the type of clay and firing style that I am using at the moment: cone 6 stoneware, electric firing.

My devotion to texture and commitment to balanced work comes from an encounter that I had working as an R.N. and caring for a blind woman in the emergency department. I saw a disheveled woman with wrinkled and mismatched clothing, potato chip bags sewn into her pockets and bell hanging everywhere and she was boasting about how proud she was of her style. She had been blind since birth, visual esthetics played no part in her choices, her world was based on sound and texture. Bells helped her count her steps. Potato chip bags alerted her to pick pockets, etc.. I was intrigued.

Heather Lepp - Missoula, MT - Website

Heather’s journey in ceramics began with a BFA from the University of Manitoba, followed by years of hands-on apprenticeships with master potters. She has exhibited her work across Canada and the United States completed her MFA at West Virginia University in 2024. Beyond her own studio practice, she is passionate about teaching, guiding students through the tactile and transformative process of working with clay.

She currently lives in beautiful Missoula, MT with her partner, and two dogs. I am inspired to create pottery that fits a need in my daily life with an emphasis equally placed on beauty and practicality.

“In opposition to our current fast-paced society, my conceptual framework is shaped by poets, philosophers, and artists which call to be present in small daily pleasures. Commonplace wares such as mugs, bowls, vases, and plates are my focus. My work evolves as a continuum through repetition of forms that change slowly through time, examination, and use. In my studio practice, I chase the minute details of a pot; the way the belly of the form holds volume and space, how the handle feels between index and thumb, the emotive quality of the colour.”

“Through a search for connection and beauty, my practice is rooted in process and celebration of the handmade. With historical folk pottery as inspiration, I strive for my work to appear comforting and simple yet have an underlying contemporary complexity of form through alteration. In reference to my childhood cabin, my work is trimmed by hand, giving the appearance of being hand-hewn. The pieces are then fired in an atmospheric kiln, which creates a subtle surface that appears worn as if well-loved through years of use. Confounded by the seemingly simple task of creating functional ceramics, I am challenged to inquisitively search for improvement. With this intention, it is my role as a maker to create thoughtful utilitarian wares that are used to enrich the everyday.”

Deb Schwartzkopf - Seattle, WA - Website

Deb Schwartzkopf is a Seattle-based ceramic artist, educator, and community builder. She is the founder of Rat City Studios and Rain City Clay, with a mission to "Build Community Through Clay". Her work explores the balance between utility and sculpture, with an ongoing interest in gesture, surface, proportion, and the quiet beauty of objects made to be held and used. Deb holds a BA from the University of Alaska, Anchorage & an MFA in Ceramics from Penn State University and is the author of Creative Pottery.

My work begins with a love of making pots and a curiosity about what happens when a familiar form is pushed, altered, or reimagined. I move between wheel throwing, altering thrown forms, and handbuilding with slabs, choosing the process that best suits the idea. I enjoy the tension between a form that feels functional and one that begins to move toward sculpture.

Repetition gives me the opportunity to explore an idea from many directions—to change a proportion, exaggerate a handle, shift a surface, or simply see what happens. I try to leave room for intuition and accident along the way. One of the parts I love the most about my process is puzzling together all the parts. Surface is an important part of my work. I use wax resist, underglazes, painted-on swatches of glaze, and sprayed layered glazes to add movement, pattern, and visual rhythm. I fire my work in an electric kiln to cone 6.

Ultimately, I want my pots to be engaging objects—to invite you to pick them up, turn them around, notice the details, and imagine using them. I love the combination of utility, beauty, and play that clay makes possible.

Amy Sanders - Lincoln, Nebraska - Website

Amy Sanders is a Chinese-American ceramic artist, born in Hunan, China and raised in Allentown, PA. She holds a Bachelor’s of Fine Arts with a concentration in Ceramics from West Virginia University in Morgantown, WV. In 2022, she completed a year as a post-baccalaureate student at Montana State University in Bozeman, MT. Currently, Sanders is a third year Master's of Fine Arts candidate at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln. Sanders has attended residencies at the Morean Center for Clay in St Petersburg, FL, Arrowmont School of Arts and Crafts: Pentaculum in Gatlinburg, TN, Shigaraki Ceramic Cultural Park in Shiga, Japan, Watershed Center for the Ceramic Arts in Newcastle, ME, and the Archie Bray Foundation: Summer Residency in Helena, MT. She has a published article in the September 2025 issue of Ceramic Monthly.

My work strives to challenge the balance of form and function, thus establishing moments of engagement. The fundamental functions of a pot—such as pouring, containing, serving, or storing—serve merely as a starting point for an ongoing, engaging experience. The visual precarity of my work is intentional. When constructing I am guided by improvisations and intuitions that fluctuate between traditional ceramics, abstraction, and function.

As utility is taken into consideration, convenience is not always at the forefront of the design. The hesitation my work produces, establishes intentional pauses during use. This moment of contemplation is meant to ground one into the experience of utility and tactility. Thus, initiating a continual, ever evolving relationship between object and user. Through abstraction of form, I establish moments investigation. Ambiguity permits opportunities for the user to build their own intimate relationships and unique functions for the vessels. The space left for cognitive flexibility leads to this continual, ungoverned play. ​

My work challenges the assumptions of the everyday pot. The vessels are not intended to cater to ease and instantaneous gratifications. Rather, their precarity and ambiguity, generates an everlasting exploration through utilization and interaction. The hope is my pieces inspire cognitive flexibility and encourage a rethinking of what is essential in our daily lives.

Zach Tate - Jonesboro, Arkansas - Website

Originally from the Ozarks in southern Missouri, Zach Tate is a ceramic artist living and working in Jonesboro, AR. He received his B.F.A. in ceramics from Missouri State University and his M.F.A. from Texas Tech University in 2013.

Zach’s work has been exhibited internationally, nationally, and regionally since 2007. Along with exhibiting his work, Zach has been a visiting artist at several universities and art centers around the world and works as an author for several ceramic publications. His writings cover experiences he has had organizing events, traveling experiences, and exhibition reviews. From 2018-2021 Zach served as a Director at Large for NCECA (National Council on Education for the Ceramic Arts).

Since 2022 Zach has been an Assistant Professor of Ceramics at Arkansas State University.I am deeply drawn to ceramics’ unparalleled history as a material that is at once art and artifact. The idea of function and utility, which are generally associated with craft materials such as ceramics, is compelling. The power of the utilitarian object, combined with the potential for surface ornamentation, form alteration, and multiple firings, allows objects manifested in clay to carry numerous uses and connotations: time, containment, preservation, and commemoration.

Through the archetypal lens, I create objects that reference our shared and collective experiences, serving as a means for cross-cultural understanding. Craft objects have been pivotal in the proliferation of one’s unique culture, as well as the culture of the makers society, throughout human history. The waxing and waning of civilizations, past and present, can be found throughout all art/craft objects.

My research sits at a crossroads with these observations and interests. I use a variety of clays, firing processes, and finishes to make work that deals with these complex issues. Compelled by the maker’s hand, I carefully and intentionally create each piece to document my own culture, while giving reverence to the lineage that this work sits within.


October 2 - 30 “Group Show” by Trackside Partners Gina Freuen, Chris Kelsey and Mark Moore

  • Opening Reception: First Friday, October 2nd, 5 - 8 pm

  • Saturday, October 3, noon - 4 pm

November 6 - 30 “Annual Coasters Benefit” created by our community of supporters, donated to the benefit and sold for $10 each to benefit a local non-profit.

Blank coasters are always available for pick up at Trackside Studio. Deadline to drop off coasters is First Friday of November before 5.

December 4,2026 to January 8, 2027, “13th annual Cup of Joy”

Over 50 ceramic artists invited from across the United States and over 200 cups available for holiday gift giving, collecting or using. Online Sales will be available.