Jeff Oestreich - Host Potter
A majority of my work is intended for daily use, although some pieces challenge the notion of function and find their place in a more formal setting. With this in mind, thought is given to weight, balance and access. My passion is in the geometric, playful forms and patterns of Art Deco architecture, softened by the action of the flame and vapor of the soda firing process.
36835 Pottery Trl, Taylors Falls, MN 55084
Showroom by appointment only please
oestreichpottery.com
Instagram: @Oestreich_Jeff
Jay Johnson - Host Potter
In my work, I explore the intersection of utility and aesthetic beauty through functional pottery. Each piece is designed not only to serve a purpose but to enhance everyday rituals. I embrace the tactile qualities of clay, allowing the natural variations and imperfections to tell a story. My goal is to create objects that inspire connection—between people and the materials, and among those who use them. By merging craftsmanship with artistic expression, I aim to elevate the mundane into a celebration of daily life.
jaypottery.com
Instagram: @Jayjohnsonceramics
Kate Bauman, Lake City, MN
I work with clay as a medium for sculptural forms and functional pottery. As a sculptor, I am interested in interior structures, matrices, and repeated shapes. I am drawn to natural history, microscopic life, and the study of the human body, relationships, and genetics, which inform the content of my work. As a potter, I enjoy sitting at the wheel to throw a variety of forms where I can explore how pieces hold volume and contain a sense of balance while attracting visual interest through their forms and surfaces. I work with a range of clay bodies, from raku to stoneware and porcelain, and I fire in electric, wood, or soda kilns, depending on what surface honors the structure and story of the piece.
www.katebauman.com
Visit Kate’s webshop
Instagram: @kate.bauman.arts
Casey Beck, Loch Lomond, CA
I make pottery not only out of a passion for my material, clay, and for the complex processes of wheel throwing and atmospheric firing, but also out of a passion for living with, using, and sharing handmade objects. For me, using pottery daily is an act of celebration. My philosophy of making pots comes in part from the particular history of utilitarian pottery that has developed over the last sixty years in Minnesota and Western Wisconsin, where I went to school and began my career as a potter. More recently, the form language that I employ in my work has developed out of a study of historical pottery and glass vessels, along with architecture. My crisp forms are contrasted with enigmatic surfaces that undulate around the vessels, speaking to a sense of timelessness and ephemerality.
beckpots.com
Instagram: @beckpots
Olivia Jenson, St. Paul, MN
I am most interested in texture and form in my work, and strive to make approachable, inviting pots for daily use. I use stoneware and porcelain clay bodies fired in high-fire gas reduction kilns, as well as occasionally firing in wood kilns. I am most influenced by Japanese, Korean, and English pottery, as well as making pots in the Mingei tradition. I use a Leach-style treadle wheel and focus mainly on functional work. My hope is that the work I make becomes a valued part of its user's home life. I believe that using handmade pots encourages a slower pace in our daily routines, and encourages its user to stop and appreciate the beauty in everyday life.
Mark Lambert, Ramsey, MN
My pots are simple, unpretentious. I am simple. In life, I aim to walk lightly and serve gently. I do not like to draw attention, my work does not stand out. While working the clay I think mostly about utility. My desire is that these pots, perform well their intended labor.
If there was a form that I see as more contemplative it would be the vase. The vase is designed to honor the blossom, stem, leaf and petal, to lift our attention in an upward gaze, to elevate our thoughts.
Flowers carry metaphors. Their color teaches of vitality in life. Their delicacy tutors us to entreat others with kindness. Their fragrance communicates the joy in giving. Their withering on a windowsill implies that death is eminent. Their blooming is a reminder that in life, growth takes time.
Ernest Miller, Minneapolis, MN
My work is a partnership between achieving utilitarian ideals and aesthetic intentions. The concepts for my work are translations of visual elements from my personal interests. I’m drawn to the interaction between the built environment and the natural world, as seen in elements such as weathered paint, an aging barn, or a well-used farm implement. Using slips and glazes, I build depth, highlight edges, and create patterns, allowing for perceptions of depth, foreground, and background.
When crafting objects meant for everyday use, especially in a kitchen or handheld context, I prioritize functionality with balanced design. For objects that primarily remain stationary, I feel more liberated to explore the realm of artistic expression, letting aesthetics take precedence over function. The partnership I demonstrate in my work goes beyond surface textures, shapes, and their roles within the pieces. When people interact with my pottery, they engage in a unique experience that connects the user and the maker. In many ways, I consider each piece unfinished until it is enjoyed in someone’s home.
www.ernestmiller.com
Visit Ernest's webshop
Instagram: @ernestmillerceramics
Carolina Niebres, Prescott, WI
Using stoneware or porcelain, I seek to create pottery that is a pleasure to touch, hold, and use and be a joy to the eye. Currently, most of my work is thrown on a wheel. Some of these are altered out of round. The technique I use depends on the visual form or feeling I want to create. Some pieces call for an applied surface texture leading to simpler decoration like a flashing slip or leaving an entirely bare surface. Quieter forms tend to lend themselves to my love of patterns which I create using wax resist and glaze. The patterns that I use are mostly inspired by tribal tattoos from the Pacific Island cultures and nature. I fire my work in a soda atmosphere which reacts with the bare clay surface, glazes, and slips on the pots. I love how this interplay results in an exciting and unique varied surface putting a final stamp on each pot. I also believe that things that are in our lives have energy that can influence us. Therefore, as I make each piece, I ask the universe to imbue them with the most positive energy for health and wellness.
www.healingvessels.com
Visit Carolina's webshop
Instagram: @cpniebres
Nate Saunders, St. Cloud, MN
My work is a culmination of many components yet are constrained within traditions of functional pottery. My making process is filled with material limitations, which I thrive on as a process driven artist. These barriers are what pushes my work forward in a problem solving fashion. I am limited by the restraints of the clay’s agility and texture and use such limits to inform the production of my work. Restriction does not end there. Where it begins with the clay it continues into the firing of my work. Whether it be wood firing, pit firing, or my preferred soda/salt firing, the restrictions are numerous. I aim to be an observer to all the “problems” that arise in my work and hope that I am open enough to consider what it is attempting to tell me.
saunderspottery.com
Visit Nate’s webshop
Instagram: @saunderspottery