Will Swanson - Host Potter
Will Swanson fashions stoneware clay into useful pots to be experienced, as he says, “through the simple, aesthetic pleasures of everyday use."
Will chooses to make pots that try to attain a satisfying simplicity while allowing the character of the earth materials and the hand-making process to be evident. He reflects that the use and perhaps the meaning of any pot is projected onto it by the user…long after it leaves the hands of the potter.
41421 Ferry Rd (in Sunrise), Harris, MN 55032
Showroom open most days
www.sunrisemnpottery.com
Visit Will's webshop
Instagram: @willswansonpottery
Janel Jacobson - Host Potter
I moved to Sunrise, Minnesota in March of 1975 at the age of 24 years. I have lived there now for 50 years. Will Swanson, my husband, has lived there for 40 years. Many of the pots that we have made in 2025 have a 50th anniversary commemorative stamp, 1975-2025, impressed on their bottoms. I currently enjoy using high fire porcelain clay with the intention of making pots that are useful in daily life. While doing this, I continue to pursue developing wheel-thrown forms that may be gently reshaped, carved, stenciled and slip-textured to be enhanced with celadon glazes, or to serve as a canvas for active, responsive carbon trapping glazes.
41421 Ferry Rd (in Sunrise), Harris, MN 55032
Showroom open most days
www.sunrisemnpottery.com
Visit Janel's webshop
Instagram: @janeljacobson
Hayne Bayless, Ivoryton, CT
I love what spawns in the friction between what I want of the clay and what it would rather. The techniques of hand-building—extrusions and slab construction in particular—let me take advantage of clay's power to capture gesture. The unintended result, often misread as a mistake and so dismissed, is one of the most fertile sources of new ideas. The trick is not to fool with clay's inherent desire to be expressive. It will offer—or impose—its own ideas about new forms and ways to work.
sidewaysstudio.com
Instagram: @dhaynebayless
Becky Lloyd, Clyde, NC
My work uses a centuries old technique called sgraffito to create very intricate patterns and designs. Each piece of hand thrown porcelain is coated with a black terra sigillata slip. I then use a very sharp knife to cut into the slip to expose the white porcelain underneath. This technique allows me to indulge in my passion for design and challenge my skills at the same time.
Over the last several years my work has become more personal. A refuge. An expression of beauty, love and grief all at the same time. I have always had a keen interest in ancient civilizations and the incredible art they produced. Those ancient worlds hold endless inspiration for me and always will. The natural world continues to be a balm for my soul and a source of never ending wonder and awe. But I am now looking inside myself. Searching. Searching for what I have lost. In late April of 2014, Steve my husband, partner in clay and life passed away unexpectedly of an undiagnosed heart condition. This man that I spent over 26 years of my life with was everything to me. He was always my biggest fan but I now know he was also my biggest inspiration. A true artist. An amazing potter. Never have I worked in the studio without him by my side. The pots we made together were an expression of the love we had for each other and our work. I cannot help but reflect on what was. It has shaped my life to what it is. Moving forward is inevitable, but in looking back and remembering I am carrying along memories and ideas of all that we had together. Now I must look inside and find the courage and grace to continue what Steve and I started together so long ago. Steve will always be in every piece I make and every piece I decorate. How could it be any other way?
www.lloydpottery.com
Visit Becky's webshop
Instagram: @beckylloydyogamama
Mathew Meunier, Comer, GA
I never set out to be a potter - I fell in love with a material and one thing led to another. Now that I find myself here though, I live with gratitude and joy. Coming from a family of accomplished makers, my work is rooted in function. A recent switch to soda fired earthenware aligns my practice more with core beliefs I hold about sustainability. The change in material and firing temperature has opened new doors technically and aesthetically, but in this day and age making ceramic objects by hand seems almost frivolous. That there is room for them at all is amazing, and to be working with a living material in a time-honored craft that meets people’s daily needs is its own reward.
www.mathewmeunier.com
Instagram: @mathewmeunier
Romulus Craft
Ikuzi Teraki & Jeanne Bisson,
Washington, VT
“Growing up in a pottery town (Kyoto, Japan), I was surrounded by many great potters and beautiful pots. As a young child, I would visit the museums and look at National Treasures and extensive ceramic collections from around the world. I was inspired. My early training within my families tradition of painting kimonos allowed me to develop my hand, gave me an eye for beauty and proportion and instilled within me an appreciation for everyday work. Although I respected the work, I had a great will to learn clay. My desire was strong to make the kind of work that I wanted to see. With this driving me, I apprenticed with Master Hisashi Tezuka and began my journey to become a potter.”
-Ikuzi Teraki
“Growing up on a family dairy farm (Barre,Vermont), I was surrounded by the beauty and the beast of nature. Responsibility for the work belonged to us all and we worked as a team. Yet it was not just working, it was learning how to work with enjoyment. I also grew up with a strong connection to the land and thought that I lived on the rim of a bowl that was full of earth. I could lose myself in the flight of birds and would draw patterns in the air in relationship to their paths. I cherish the lessons I learned in youth. It is an expression of this way of life that compels me to do what I do. I think of creation within this vehicle called Romulus as paying homage to honorable work and I can see its’ intrinsic beauty. It is with great pride that I dedicate myself to this continuation.”
-Jeanne Bisson
Ellen Shankin, Floyd, VA
For me, pots are about balance. At their heart, they are simple and direct and difficult to achieve. Volume, contour, color, texture, feel, energy, surface, line....all come into play in this humble format that gets set in the dishwasher and stacked in the cupboard. I so enjoy imagining the relationship of those aspects, while wandering around amidst all the obstacles and limitations that objects meant for use present.
www.ellenshankin.com
Visit Ellen's webshop
Instagram: @ellenshankin
Mark Shapiro, Worthington, MA
Where will my pots end up? In the landfills with the busted bikes, lawnmowers, chargers, and all the other cheaply made or quickly obsolete techno-junk—the giant middens of our endless desires? No matter. I feel lucky to leave a record of my own touch in this most receptive, fragile, and enduring material.
Sam Taylor, Westhampton, MA
I am a SLOW potter. Pottery, art, and collaboration are the main ingredients in my life. My work is getting to know, discovering, experiencing all the ways these ingredients go together.
Art feeds the soul. Pottery is soul food. The very simple & beautiful act of choosing a piece of pottery to start each day with is a life affirming meditation and a harbinger of balance and happiness.
Instagram: @Dogbarpottery
Tara Wilson, Montana City, MT
Tara Wilson was captivated by clay as a high school student in Clyde, Ohio. During her undergraduate studies in Tennessee, she became fascinated with the wood firing process that she continues to explore today. After receiving an MFA from the University of Florida, Tara moved west for a residency at The Archie Bray Foundation, awakening her love for the rugged beauty of Montana’s diverse landscape—from the sweeping planes to the rugged mountains. These passions continue to drive her artistic endeavors today as she produces woodfired pottery in her studio near Helena, Montana. The soft forms of her woodfired vessels often relate to the figure while the surfaces are inspired by her natural surroundings.
www.tarawilsonpottery.com
Visit Tara's webshop
Instagram: @teadubpottery