Sunflower Pottery: About
“The greatness of art is not to find what is common but what is unique”
Every piece of Sunflower Pottery is, quite lliterally, one-of-a-kind...created by Bob on a decades-old foot-powered wheel and hand-glazed by Connie, usually in the wee hours of the morning. Mounds of clay are lovingly transformed into masterpieces that ultimately find appreciative new homes in museums, galleries, businesses, retail shops, kitchens and living rooms across the country and around the world.
Telephone and mail orders are shipped from the studio every day. In addition to the ever-changing inventory available in the Pella shop, commissions and custom orders are also available. Unfortunately, online ordering is not available at this time. For information, please call Connie or Bob at 641.628.8369.
Arts & Crafts Collection
Inspired by the writings of John Ruskin, the Arts & Crafts movement reached its height between approximately 1880 and 1910. This collection celebrates the works of influential Arts & Crafts practitioners including William Morris, Charles Robert Ashbee, Frank Lloyd Wright, Charles Rennie Macintosh and Gustav Stickley.
In rich jewel-tone hues of blues, greens, oranges and browns, the highly collectible pieces include cups and bowls, plates and platters, vases and wine chillers, goblets, birdhouses and custom items
Organic Collection
Muted earthtone glazes over evocative relief and pressed images drawn from nature and the found world make this line a treasure for those who love both the physical and the metaphysical world. Black, glass-like interiors and sensuous exteriors are a visual treat and delight to hold and use.
These thoughtfully shaped pieces combine an almost oriental simplicity with a Midwestern sensibility that celebrate our place in the natural world. Here we can at last indulge ourselves in the natural processes even as we remember Jacques's famous insight that as "we ripe and ripe, we rot and rot"!
Pinecone Collection
Even if you don't have a cabin in the Northwoods, this collection will make you happy just to stay at home and enjoy an evening with friends, good food, and a fire. Wonderful hues of dark browns and greens are perfect complements for the pinecone motif that characterizes this line of functional dinner ware. If you do have a cabin in the Northwoods, it's really not complete without place settings, bowls, mugs, pitchers, or wine coolers from the Pinecone Collection.
Regional Collection
Function with a bit of whimsy in a solid, salt-glazed look is the hallmark of this extensive line of products. While the origins of this look derive from traditional patterns basic to the Midwestern kitchen and dining table, these pieces are designed to bring pleasure to our ordinary rituals of eating and drinking. Where else can you discover a pig with wings (a pigasus?) or a holy cow or even a tea pot shaped like a familiar blue silo with a corncob pouring spout?
This extensive line includes mugs, saucers, plates, bowls, platters, serving and baking dishes of all kinds in a wide range of sizes. Their salt-glazed functional look, festooned with the flora and fauna of the Midwest, images of nature, farm animals (some familiar and some unfamiliar) will bring a smile to your lips.
Garden Collection
This collection includes purely decorative pieces that will complement table settings and flower displays alike...ceramic pumpkins, tomatoes, eggplants, and, yes, even rarer vegetable like rutabagas, all carefully handcrafted and glazed to make you wonder why you didn't plant okra this year.
Terra Cotta Collection
Gardens, summer time, and window sills lined with red clay pots nearly obscured by geraniums. What could be more satisfying and useful? Terra cotta, the traditional pot for serious gardeners and serious garden enjoyers, is always the right choice. It's the perfect line for outdoor or indoor use and includes vessels of various designs and sizes, garden row markers, and other accoutrements for people who love growing things.