About Laurel

Hi there, and thanks for coming!

I'm Laurel, the owner of the hands behind these pots! I live with my husband and family in Seattle, WA, and spend as much time as I can in the great outdoors of the Pacific Northwest. I create micro batch and generally one-off pieces of pottery in my home studio. Ceramics is a huge life passion, and I see no end in sight on this wonderful journey that began in 2017.

Before I graduated with a BA in Art and Design from the University of Michigan in 2018, I spent a great deal of time wondering how best to use my artistic talents to add to the world. I was a painter for many years through high school and University, and had planned to focus my degree on illustration and see where that would take me. The illustration world is shifting towards digital art, computer generated/edited images, and web-based media rather than a simple "pen-to-paper" approach. While I appreciate that art moves with the times, I quickly realized that a job in illustration or design now means staring at a computer for more time than actually drawing or painting your artwork, and that's not something I planned to incorporate more of into my lifestyle. I wasn't sure if "art" was my occupational calling anymore.

And then I took a ceramics class.

Clay was it. I wanted to touch it, and feel it, and mold it all day long. The mixture of earthy clay, water, air, and fire creates the most natural art form, seemingly created from earth itself with the help of some humble hands.

I found myself back in the studio for many more hours than it took to actually finish the projects. I went to the studio on weekends and between classes, and would leave other classes just to see if my pots were out of the kiln yet. This was the "pen-to-paper" approach I was longing to find. The added bonus was finding an art form that could be both completely functional and a work of art, which was my answer to how I wanted to add to the world.

I spent my remaining time at school handbuilding, glazing, and asking question after question to a very patient and influential professor (thanks Ben!). As soon as I graduated I moved back to my hometown of Seattle and created a studio to play with more mud. I draw inspiration from nature in the Pacific Northwest, from my cultural Jewish background, and from many other areas of life. My style is continuously evolving and I look forward to seeing what comes next!

Thank you for following along!

Laurel