When Jeff and I moved from Montana (our home for 25+ years) to the Oregon coast, a big motivational aspect of the change was to move things around in my life to focus more on my art.
Pottery allows creativity with an earthy medium.... making usable art that people can enjoy and cherish for years. It's also meaningful time for myself, like a meditation of sorts, and I find a lot of joy from taking raw clay and shaping it into something I can imagine someone using to enjoy their favorite cup of tea or coffee while smiling in the sunshine on a beautiful morning.
When we moved into our new home, there was a perfect space to start shaping my shop. We wired my kiln, set up the wheel, slab roller and extruder and I got to work (fun). Although, throwing down on my wheel doesn't feel like work at all! Sitting at the wheel feels like it definitely adds to my best KAVU life!
It's so fun to see a block of clay at the beginning of a session, turn into mugs and bowls ready to fire. The multi-step process and patience required is all part of the satisfaction. I let things dry properly, trim each piece, add handles.... then, bisque fire a batch before hand-painting colorful or earthy glazes for the last fire and finishing touch.
I like experimenting with colors, styles and shapes. It's most important that the handles are comfortable, the mug sizes are right for the individuals using them and, that I get to stay creative and try new ideas.
After all, the mug I chose for a quiet morning by the fire or, to sip from in the sunshine on our deck matters to me. I always try to make vessels for friends, family and fellow pottery lovers while keeping that in mind.
Speaking of friends and family, living here has been wonderful and feeds my inspiration for ceramics. Good food, good music, lots of laughter, sun through the trees and dog walks in the woods with the sound of crashing waves in the air feeds my soul. I try hard to have that good energy show through in my pottery.
It's been incredible to use the nature here as another huge inspiration. There's certainly something special about waves on an unbroken horizon.
I love that each and every finished piece is unique and produced with lots of love.
To me, living KAVU means following your heart, and doing the things that bring you joy in life. If what brings me joy can also carry over to someone else's life..... even better!
Kara Shapiro
Winding Pine Potter
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© 2026 KAVU
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