Thomas Paik
BIO
Thomas Paik is a ceramic artist whose connection to clay began with his father, who operated a pottery studio in Korea. Although he was unable to learn from him before his passing, that absence became a quiet motivation to pursue ceramics. Through clay, Thomas reflects memory, nature, and the search for meaning.
His practice approaches ceramics as a narrative and tactile medium, where touch, time, and transformation carry emotion and story. With a background in engineering and over two decades in ceramic screen printing and production management, he brings both sensitivity and deep material understanding to his work. He has also participated in the Medalta Student Residency.
CAPSTONE PROJECT
BEGINNING THROUGH CHANGE
Clay is a transformation made tangible. It surrenders to the hand, yields to water, and is forever changed by fire. This is ceramics' great gift — the gift of change. But that gift has always had a limit. Once fired, the change ends. The work becomes permanent, sealed, finished. It can no longer speak back. The Gift of Change was made to break that limit.
Each of the 1,225 cubes in this work carries the evidence of fire — the irreversible change that makes ceramic what it is. Yet together, they refuse stillness. Every cube can be turned. Every image can be unmade and remade. The moon you see is only one of countless possibilities sleeping inside the same grid.
FEATURED Work
Title: Scream https://www.youtube.com/shorts/cvPRm-wfgP4
Dimensions: 25 x 25 x 2 in.
Year: 2026
Materials: Cone 6, Reduction, Ash wood frame, extrude
Title: Scream https://www.youtube.com/shorts/cvPRm-wfgP4
Dimensions: 25 x 25 x 2 in.
Year: 2026
Materials: Cone 6, Reduction, Ash wood frame, extrude
Title: Sun Square Moon
Dimensions: 12 x 12 x 3 in., 9 x 9 x 8 in.
Year: 2025
Materials: Cone 6 Soda fired, Throwing & Hand build
Title: The Gift of Change https://www.youtube.com/shorts/8uvA40fDIA4
Dimensions: 25 x 25 x 2.5 in.
Year: 2026
Materials: Cone 6, reduction, Maple Wood frame, extrude
Title: Life and Rebirth
Dimensions: 25 x 12 x 6
Year: 2026
Materials: cone 6, Soda firing, Hand build