Saturday I had my first pottery market. But just a few days before the event, Rae handed me some cash and took home a moon vase.

| journal

I’ve been making pots

And my website isn’t ready for them

A nearly-spherical vase with a small protruding foot ring and lip, and textured grooves highlighted by the green-gray glaze that breaks red-brown over the texture.

I started doing weekly pottery sessions at the local rec center a couple years ago, coming out of lock-down. But last fall I decided to commit more time, and joined a studio with 24hr access. Now I’m checking in almost daily to throw, trim, decorate, or see what’s fresh out of a firing.

The first several months of 2025 were dedicated practice – working my way through online courses from (mostly) Mea Rhee. I’ve also been taking assignments from friends – planters and ramen bowls and a tissue box cover for our new home, shallow dishes for Lars, a gaiwan tea set for Gwyn, a trinket tray for Rae…

Rectangular tray with a black and white zig-zag pattern that starts tidy on the left then skews wildly on the right - the lip of the tray is red and folds over itself ending in torn edges Tray from a low angle for dramatic effect, showing the torn edges close-up, and the black underside Old yellow dress form with holes for arms and neck, and patch nailed onto it that says coroner - there's a planter protruding from the neck, housing a ponytail fern squat conic trunk up to scraggly hair-like leaves My arm reaches in to hold the coroner head out of the dress form, revealing a long bent cone with deep texture and pooled white glaze at the rounded-off base which would not be able to sit in any other location A set of four shallow bowls stacked, with one overturned leaning against the others to show the deep foot ring and under-side texture. They have a deep glassy brown glaze with a splash of white and blue along one inside wall
A few of the commissioned pieces for friends

I have a lot more that I’m excited to learn, but I’m also proud of how far I’ve come. This month I even started teaching beginner wheel throwing classes at Kinship Studio. I’ll be teaching the Tuesday class again in July, and registration is still open!

Since teaching covers my studio membership, I’m no longer spending money to make my pottery. First goal achieved! The next goal is to sell some pottery, then see if I can sell it consistently. I’m starting to pitch local shops, putting together a web store, trading pottery for hair cuts, and this weekend I participated in my first market!

Four 12oz tumblers with a deep inset foot ring, wide base, and grooved speckled walls sloping in to a narrower brightly glazed lip - one red, one green, one blue, and one white Three tumblers, also wide base with grooved walls sloped in - but the clay is brown un-speckled, the lips are an icy white, and they have hand-written text. The front one says "do trans, be crime". We can also see the end of "…crimes" sticking out on one behind, and "protect trans kids" on the last one v60 style coffee pour-over with frosty glaze highlighting dark clay that shows through at edges, an inverted cone down to a flat lid resting on the rim of a mug, which is slightly conic the other way - tilting in from a wide base, also in dark clay with the same glaze only at the top. Both have a grooved texture, and there's a row of small white arrows on the mug between grooves My hand holding up a red-clay cortado-size tumbler with grooved texture, inset foot ring, and white-brown glazed rim. There's just a peak of teal showing inside the foot ring, usually hidden. The pour-over from underneath, showing a glazed base with concentric outer and inner rings around the funnel to keep the mug in position and the coffee flowing into the mug. My 'm' stamp stands out on the rim, dark clay unglazed A small black tumbler, maybe 6oz, with red drippy-looking arrows pointing up to a grey-brown glazed rim My hand holding a lidded gaiwan tea bowl just over the saucer - one finger pulling the lid back as though to pour tea strained through the small opening. All the parts are a glassy deep brown, breaking red over grooved textures, and the bowl has a wide flared rim for picking up when hot Overturned parts of the gaiwan, a lid on the table, the bottom of the bowl shows a bare white clay foot ring and my 'm' stamp, and the saucer now leaning against it has a matching grooved pattern on the underside and matching white foot-ring 9 tea or espresso cups about 2-3oz, stacked together rim-to-rim, and foot-to-foot - four in front, three behind, and two on the table. A dark dusk glaze breaks red over grooved texture, and has hints of blue between. each has a red rim, and no handle. Two vases, one upright, the other on it's side so we can see into it - both conic like my mugs but taller, and with a rim that curves back down into the vase slightly to a narrower inset lip. A brown raw clay has deep grooves and little trails of red arrows, then a white rim at the top Two nearly identical soup bowls nested so we see the outer one from the side, a grooved texture that shows through the glassy dark brown-to-black-and iridescent blue. A rounded shape with a tall speckled clay foot ring and my small 'm' stamp. The inner bowl is off-kilter showing inside walls, smooth in the same glaze from a red-brown rim down into cosmic blues and a splash of yellow to one side. One of the ramen bowls, with chop-sticks sitting across a set of shallow notches in the rim A whole set of mugs and pour-overs, gaiwan, vases, and other assorted pieces laid out on the counter. Towards the back are taller vases out of focus.
Some of the pieces that I made for this market

I’m aware of the dangers that come with turning a hobby into a hustle, but right now I’m interested in anything that helps me spend more time in the studio. I’m already back to work on some commissions I’ve promised to local shops and also to family.

A medium-size sake bottle in coal black clay, still wet on the wheel, with a barely rounded belly, narrow neck, and cup-like rim a tall cylindrical vase with straight walls up to a sharp angle in, then sharp angle back out, ending in a horizontal flared rim nearly the same diameter as the cylinder - reminiscent of an old-style milk-jug, but still wet on the wheel with splattered clay and tools around A rectangular tissue-box cover in raw unglazed clay that has a circular geometric pattern pressed into it. The opening at the top seems torn and pulled back, with tissues sticking out - and the bottom rim is a torn and rolled edge as though made of draped cloth, or alive like some sort of sea creature
A few of the new pieces currently under construction…

At some point I also need to find time for getting this website in a better state – ready to display (and sell) my work more easily.

If you’re interested in updates on my pottery or other creations, sign up for my new ‘Mia Culpa’ newsletter. It will be rarely used, but give you first access when I do have something new to show, or new work available in my online store.