Last Page - Pottery by Joy Tanner, Bakersville

Carved Teapot, 10” x 5” x 8”, wheel-thrown soda-fired stoneware by Joy Tanner, Bakersville

“I’m always looking at plants, at leaf patterns and the buds on flowers.”

Joy Tanner discovered her love of ceramics while attending college in Tennessee, where she learned to make functional wheel-thrown, soda-fired pottery. While her process hasn’t changed since graduating and moving to Asheville in 2004 for a resident artist position at Odyssey ClayWorks, or since opening her own studio near Penland School of Craft in Bakersville, she says her work has become more refined and more detailed. Teapots have become a favorite form to create, as they require successfully bringing together many different parts and pieces. She hand carves each pot, incorporating the patterns and textures she observes in nature, where she finds peace and comfort. Says Tanner, “I hope that other people, when they’re using the pots daily, are also taking time to slow down and notice the details around them.” joytannerpottery.com, joytanner.etsy.com