cassie ryalls butcher

Cassie Ryalls Butcher is currently a studio artist at Curve Studios in the River Arts District of Asheville, NC.  She graduated from Berea College in Kentucky where she earned her Bachelor of Arts in Art and Psychology. Cassie’s first experiences with clay were during a summer hand-building course she took at the university near her home town in West Virginia. When she returned that fall to Berea, she took a wheel throwing class and became completely mesmerized by clay. As part of Berea’s work-study program, she worked in the Ceramic Apprenticeship Program making functional pottery. Although captivated by the wheel throwing process, what most interested her about pots was the suggestion of the human form. 

Upon graduating from college, Cassie attended Penland School of Craft in North Carolina to study glaze chemistry. While at Penland, she discovered Odyssey Center for Ceramic Arts and became a resident there for the next two years. After the residency, Cassie attended the University of Florida for post-baccalaureate studies in Ceramics. Now she has set up her studio in the beautiful mountains of Asheville, NC in their River Arts District.

Despite her attempts to leave her psychology studies behind, they find their way out in her figurative sculptures. Cassie’s sculptures are inspired by people watching, conversations, her spiritual beliefs and relationships.