Grand Prairie Designs

09/20/2024

Our first of two ARTrails weekends begins tomorrow! We’ve got great work to share with you, fresh out of the kiln!

07/26/2024

We’ve got all sorts of beautiful pieces in the farm gallery right now! Please call ahead to make an appointment to come and shop!

06/18/2023

The sun may come and go today; we’re open and ready to see you, no matter the weather!

06/17/2023

Fresh out of the kiln vibes 🔥

06/16/2023

Drumroll please! Although he really needs no introduction, our eighth featured artist of the Summer Solstice show is Richard Roth. In addition to his ongoing functional work, he’s excited to share the evolution of his sculptural work. In his own words:

“I am currently focusing on altered, closed, sculptural forms using low temperature sagger fire techniques, and exploring various surface treatments to achieve a smooth tactile finish.”

You can read Richard’s full biography at https://grandprairiedesigns.com and you can come talk to him in person this weekend, from 10 am to 5 pm each day!

06/15/2023

Our seventh featured artist is near and dear to all of our hearts. Susan Roth creates gorgeous, functional ceramic pieces. You have to move fast because her pitchers, bowls, and trays regularly sell out, before the show even begins!

Artist Statement

I have loved having my hands in dirt and clay since childhood living in California. While other little girls were playing with dolls indoors, I was digging in the orange orchard and making mud pies in the sunshine.

Now as an adult living on a farm in Winlock Washington, I still have my hands in dirt and clay. I make pottery in the studio and till the earth in my vegetable garden. I enjoy the appearance and feel of handmade pottery and find enormous aesthetic pleasure serving meals to family and friends on handmade pottery rather than on manufactured dishes. I am an avid cook and enjoy making pots that I can use to serve the beautiful fresh organic vegetables and fruits from my garden.

Materials and Processes

My work is usually created on an electric wheel and trimmed on a kick wheel. I need the speed of the electric wheel to center the clay but when I trim I like the kick wheel because it automatically slows down which keeps me under control and because it is so quiet. The difference between an electric wheel and the kick wheel, to me, is like the difference between motor boating and sailing.

My work has a lot of variety because I use red, white stoneware, and porcelain clays. Some of my pieces are earthy and primitive while others are china white with celadon glazes. Almost all of my work is utilitarian because I like to use hand made items in the kitchen and want others to notice and enjoy the subtle difference between using something manufactured and something hand made.

Educational Background
BA Humanities, University of Colorado, Boulder Colorado

Acknowledgements
I would like to thank my husband, Richard who has continued to support me along my journey in the clay studio and because he fires the gas kiln. Without him, all I would have is mud.

06/15/2023

Our sixth featured artist is someone who can’t stand referring to herself in the third person! So here we go with first person instead:

My name is Elise Roth and I’ve been creating art on our family farm for more than 40 years. My current group of paintings is called “Be Your Own Bird (You are allowed to…)”

I work in ink, watercolor, and acrylics, in an illustrative, layered style - you can see more at I also have been creating a daily color spectrum photo project at for the past three years, which I plan to transform into an exhibit soon!

It’s an honor to be hanging my own work alongside the work of so many master artists and craftspeople for the Summer Solstice show!

Alright, back to the third person now ☺️

06/15/2023

Our fifth featured artist is Rob Nelson! Rob is based in Southwest Washington and creates mixed media sculptural paintings using vintage and found objects. You’ve got to come by on June 17th and 18th to check out these amazing pieces in person!

06/14/2023

And now for our fourth featured artist, Lois Beck! Like her sister Fae Marie, Lois has been creating art for most of her life. We love her artist statement from a previous show at the Broadway Gallery, so here it is:

“I came late to making art and am pouring it on to make up time! After taking various community college courses for 30 years, I decided I wanted a degree, which I completed in 1996 at The Evergreen State College with a Bachelor of Arts in Humanities. During my last quarter at TESC, I took my first art class – printmaking. I have been hooked since then.
My artwork explores the many fascinating processes of printmaking with my current focus being monoprint. My prints include woodcuts, etchings, linocuts, solar plates and rubber blocks as well as monoprints, with each technique producing a different result.
Recently, I have become interested in collage and combining collage with my prints is producing exciting results. In collage, I often utilize parts of monoprints that I have made with color and shapes from magazines. Two or three monoprints can also be cut or torn to create a collage.
Creating art and making abstracts with color and motion bring me much wonder and satisfaction. Often I use several layers of ink and multiple passes through the press to achieve my abstracts.
It is my hope that viewers of my work enjoy a private conversation with what they are seeing.”

06/14/2023

Introducing our third featured artist!

Fae Marie Beck is an accomplished artist in many formats. She worked for more than fifty years in textiles including weaving, sewing, knitting, needlepoint, quilting, braided rugs and embroidery. In the mid-90s she discovered her passion for clay and sculpture work, while traveling in Greece and has since created many goddess forms from clay.

Her work has been shown at the White Lotus Gallery, the Evergreen State College Regional Art Show, Minnaert Center for the Arts, Capital City Visual Arts Exhibit, Northwind Art Center, the Broadway Gallery, ARTrails of Southwest Washington and Gallery
505 in Toledo.

We are excited that Fae Marie will be part of our Summer Solstice show on June 17th and 18th!

06/13/2023

Our second featured artist for the Summer Solstice show on June 17th and 18th is Wes Grant. Wes has been creating functional ceramic pieces at Grand Prairie Designs since 2021, with a focus on both gas- and wood-fired pieces. We’re so happy that Wes is part of the team here at the farm! You can see even more work and 🔥 reels at on Instagram.

06/12/2023

One of our eight featured artists at our Summer Solstice show on June 17th and 18th is John Brooks, of Floating Feet Studios in Tenino. He and his partner, Ashlea Schroder, specialize in handmade functional pottery.

In addition to his personal artistic work, John is an integral part of the greater Southwest Washington art community. His projects include support for the Monarch Sculpture Park and the South Puget Sound Community College arts program.

You can find a variety of soda fired pieces through their website and at our upcoming show!

But what is soda firing?

“Soda firing is a v***r glazing process where soda ash is introduced into the kiln firebox at a high temperature. The soda v***rizes, and the sodium v***r combines with silica in the clay surface, forming extremely hard sodium-silicate glaze. These extremes create beautiful surfaces on the work, ranging from juicy glassy drips to colorful flash marks left by the path of the flame.”

06/12/2023

Check us out over on Instagram too! Our page is new so we appreciate everyone who has been sharing and following!

06/09/2023

While you're in Winlock celebrating Egg Day, make some time to stop at Grand Prairie Designs! Thank you for your support Richard & Susan Roth!

05/31/2023

05/20/2023

The view from the glazing room today, as we get ready for the Solstice Show!