This article is part of our Design special section about making the environment a creative partner in the design of beautiful homes.
Mitch Iburg, who lives in St. Paul, Minn., makes ancient-looking tableware, vessels and sculptures primarily out of clay that he digs from the earth with his own hands (and some tools).
Driving his truck two and half hours to an open valley near the Minnesota River, he comes away with 1,000 or so pounds — a quantity that will last him roughly a year.
Born in Wisconsin across the river from Minnesota and raised partly in Iowa City, Iowa, Mr. Iburg, 33, studied painting at Coe College in Iowa.
In 2015, he applied for a residency at the Cobb Mountain Art and Ecology Project in California partly because the studio sat on top of a clay bed.