Kyla Strid a potter and the Director of Residencies & Adult Education at Lawrence Arts Center. She was born and raised in Anchorage, Alaska, where she received a BFA in ceramics from the University of Alaska Anchorage. Additionally, she has an MFA in ceramics from Ohio University and has been awarded numerous residencies all over the world. Kyla has extensive professional experience working as a studio technician, studio manager, gallery manager, and curator at various institutions across the country. She has also consulted on an archeological dig of a Minoan Pottery Workshop on the island of Crete.

Kyla’s pots are inspired by small everyday observations, mostly from her garden and kitchen. She designs her pots to quietly elevate whatever they are holding- be it wine, flowers, fruit, utensils, or a houseplant. Recently she has changed her clay body and surfaces to more closely reflect the Ancient Minoan pots she has spent years studying. Her new work features simplified glazes, typically white, which compliment a rich red clay body. She uses wax to paint patterns on the surfaces often inspired by plants from her yard to create compositions that further nod to the pots made in Ancient Greece.