Welcome and thank you for visiting Misha’s Pots and Pieces website.

I am Misha and my mom named the website after me. I am (was) her Golden Retriever. The pottery pieces you can see on this website are crafted by her.

My mom was always a crafty and creative person. She explored several media over the years - when not enjoying the great outdoors with me, she usually worked on some creation or other. In her childhood, it was working with paper, wax, soil, twigs, plants or anything that invited itself to be worked with.

Later on in her life, she channeled her creative spirits via cooking, baking, gardening, designing and arranging things around the house and in her garden. She gave a try at drawing and painting but learned she is pulled to three dimensional techniques where she is directly involved with the medium. She first tried working with clay when living in Washington DC in the mid 2000s and finally returned to pottery in 2022, when she signed up for pottery classes at the local craft school. She met wonderful teachers and fellow students and enjoys working with and learning from them.

Here is what she has to say:

I have had several careers during my life – from working in the hospitality industry, to nursing, to mental health counseling. However, what brings me the biggest joy is making pottery. I enjoy the creative outlet making pottery provides, as well as the elevated sense of being one experiences when engaging in creating something. It is as if one is channeling the ideas and inspiration from a place where the pieces already exist into the creations one works on.

I started taking pottery classes in January 2022 at the local community pottery studio. Over the last two years, I have used both wheel throwing as well as slab work and hand building. I am more pulled towards slab work and hand building as I feel it allows me to be more energetically in touch with the pieces I create. In my work I am inspired by nature, mostly flora. I am learning different finishing techniques, from using glazes, washes, and slip.

My dream is to one day have my own pottery studio and live in the place where I feel inspired to create pieces that communicate my appreciation of nature as well my connection to the Universe. Ideally, my pieces would communicate love, appreciation, encouragement, and peace. This desire I suspect is informed by my past training in mental health counseling.

Misha was my beloved Golden Retriever who is my inspiration and guiding light, hence I named the website after him.