Shaping Balance: The Ceramics of Lon Carter

Photography by Lorelai Robideaux

In the rhythmic spin of a pottery wheel and the quiet alchemy of glaze, ceramic artist Lon Carter has found both her medium and her meditation. Working under the studio name Babylon Ceramics, Carter creates pieces that live in the space between sculpture and function, objects that invite both use and reflection.

Her relationship with clay began unexpectedly in 2015 during a semester abroad in Florence. “I first discovered ceramics while studying at Lorenzo de’ Medici,” she recalls. “I had signed up for a ceramics course as part of my Fine Art minor, not realizing it would spark something that would stay with me for years.”

In the Florentine studio, Carter learned the fundamentals, the tactile language of clay, the transformative unpredictability of glaze, and the thrill of Raku firing. “The immediacy and unpredictability of the medium hooked me instantly,” she says. After returning home and graduating, it took a few years for her to find her way back to the wheel. But when she discovered a shared studio in New York’s Flatiron District, it was like rediscovering a piece of herself.

“Since then, my practice has been about deepening my technical skills, experimenting with glaze chemistry, and weaving together functionality and sculpture to carve out my own artistic language,” Carter explains.

Moments of Imperfection and Triumph

Ceramics, by nature, is a humbling craft. “Failure is built into the process,” Carter says. “There are endless experiments that collapse in the kiln or fall short of what you envisioned. But when something finally works, when the clay and glaze align with the image you’ve been chasing in your head—it feels like unlocking a new level.”

One of her proudest moments came after months of frustration spent perfecting a series of vases adorned with hand-sculpted ceramic chain links. “They would crack or crumble after bisque firing—it was maddening,” she admits. But persistence paid off. “When I finally pulled a finished piece from the kiln with those delicate links intact, it felt like a quiet triumph.”

That moment, for Carter, represents what makes ceramics so meaningful: the interplay between control and surrender, patience and discovery. “It’s not about perfection,” she reflects. “It’s about persistence, growth, and possibility.”

A Day in the Life Of Lon Carter: Clay, Coffee, and Balance

For Carter, balancing a full-time corporate career and a thriving studio practice requires intention. “My weekdays start early, 5:30 AM at the gym with my fiancé, before a full day at my corporate job in Midtown,” she says. “But the best part of my day comes after work, when I walk down to my studio.”

Evenings are spent trimming, glazing, or slipping into the meditative rhythm of throwing on the wheel. Weekends are sacred: long, uninterrupted afternoons where she can lose herself in the process. “Those are the moments where ideas come together,” she says. “Where I can reconnect with why I fell in love with clay in the first place.”

Finding Babylon Ceramics

Carter shares her work online through Instagram at @_iamlon and on Etsy under Babylon Ceramics. This year, she’s expanding into more in-person markets and shows, including the New Canaan Holiday House Tour this December.

Beyond collecting her work, she says the most meaningful support often comes from connection: “Sharing my work with friends, following along, or helping me find new opportunities, it all makes a difference. Every bit of encouragement helps me keep building this path.”

Inspiration and Influence

Carter draws inspiration from brands and artists that blur the line between art and utility. “I’m endlessly inspired by Astier de Villatte, the way their work moves so seamlessly between sculpture and function feels like the truest expression of ceramics,” she says. She also admires the refinement of Ginori 1735 and the craftsmanship of Sharland England, noting how each embodies “artistry that feels both rooted in tradition and alive with new possibility.”

In her own evolving practice, Carter continues to seek that same balance, where heritage and experimentation coexist, and where every vessel tells a quiet story of patience, imperfection, and beauty.