About

 

    Anacapa, one of the Channel Islands that runs along the coast of southern California, is also the name of the street where the first studio was located in Ventura. The name stuck; the location changed. It remains as a reminder: the outdoors, the journey, and places one should go.

    A.C., that production potter part of me, is constantly changing, built on a foundation of a number of studios in California where I learned most of my ceramic chops: Berkeley, Grover Beach, L.A., Ojai, S.L.O., Ventura; along with the knowledge shared by so many generous Californian ceramicists. A number of these studios and ceramicists are connected to its history: Beatrice Wood, Otto and Vivika Heino, Peter Voulkos. On top of this, a lot of inspiration comes from potters based in Japan (glaze work), Netherlands (forms), and U.K. (production work); 

    The majority of the work is done in high fire, about 2340°f, in a light to medium reduction atmosphere (picked up in a Grover Beach studio), developing glazes and clay bodies into certain colors and textures. At a studio in Berkeley, while eavesdropping, like one does at a proper studio, on a discussion about kiln building and reduction firing, a man from Prairie Ceramics said, "it's like painting with flames." It's one of the best description of high fire ceramics, I've heard. Side note, P.C. works on industrial grade kilns, serious things that makes other serious things, like spacecraft heat shields and dam turbines. 

    Along with production work for functional ware, there are commission and collaboration projects happening, and then there's some additional work on more creative pursuit: sculptural pieces.

    Just about all of my functional goods move through a few stores in California. If you have inquiries or questions, hop onto the howdy page.

 

Cheers,
V. Dona

  

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Insta: 
anacapa.ceramics

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