About the Potter:

I began my pottery journey in Santa Cruz California, in 2002. I was lucky enough to learn from the late John Brown at Clay Creation, and I quickly saw how pottery becomes a way of life— in structuring daily activities around the drying time needed by the fledgling pots and the schedules for kiln firings, it commands our full awareness and attention.

In 2004, my partner (https://www.gabrielberentphoto.com) and I returned to the Bay Area where I was born and raised, and after some years at the Potter’s Studio in Berkeley I put the whole thing on hiatus to launch into my training as a therapist (https://www.lailashamszadmft.com) and raise our now-teenaged kids.

I am so grateful to be re-entering the ceramics world, with a revived commitment to the lessons learned by my first teacher— to take things easy, enjoy the ride, listen closely to the clay but don’t let it boss you around, let go of things that aren’t working (this is still the hardest one for me!) and to always, always have music playing.

During this time of such disconnection and uncertainty in our human existence, our daily rituals are places where we can comfort and ground ourselves. An earthy mug of tea or coffee that warms your hands as you wrap your palms and fingers around it, flowers in a cheerful vase brightening the visual field, the clinking sound of jewelry in a little dish by the bed at the end of the night— these experiences color our sensory world. I strive to make items that support your practices of grounding and reflecting.