Wild Clay was dreamt up by founders Joshua & Lauren Freeman as a way to bring Joshua’s passion for ceramics to a broader audience and provide a space that is shared and loved by the community, including serving the homeschool families who need enrichment classes. Joshua brings 20 years of clay enthusiasm and 15 years of award-winning instruction to the city of Claremont and surrounding areas to inspire new artists and support those seasoned ones as well.
Joshua began his ceramic career at the University of Central Florida and found his way into teaching ceramics at Olympia High School in Orlando where he oversaw 200 ceramics students each year and grew the AP Art program there as well as served as the Art Department chair. In 2019 he was awarded the Orange County Public School’s “Art Teacher Scholarship Award” for his innovation and student success.
The Freeman family moved to Los Angeles in 2019 and Joshua began teaching at Providence High School in Burbank where he taught for 6 years covering 7 different course topics. His students annually won ribbons, prizes and scholarships. He earned his MFA from Azusa Pacific University in 2020 and has also taught ceramics classes at California Baptist University.
Joshua & Lauren have 5 children together–you are sure to find them hanging around the studio making fun creations at Wild Clay!
You can also view Joshua’s artist portfolio on his personal site: www.joshuajamesfreeman.com