“Each object I make tells a story, speaks to the tradition of handmade artifacts, and shares my personal experiences,” says potter Osa Atoe. “Clay has become not just a means for me to create but a portal to so many beautiful things.”
The Sarasota artisan is not speaking about the cerebral sculpture her statement may conjure up but of the earthy and rustic pitchers, bowls, plates, and cups that are the hallmarks of her 15-year-old business.
“My focus is on everyday pieces that are meant to be used by people in their homes,” says Atoe. “The longer I do it, the more special it feels to create a mug that someone will cup between their hands and touch to their lips time and time again. That intimacy with art objects is rare to experience. When we visit a museum or gallery, pottery is often behind a glass or on a pedestal and we’re not allowed to touch it, so the way my handmade pots enter people’s lives is a very special thing.”
Equally special are the backstories that inform Atoe’s pottery. Her pieces reference her past as a punk rock musician, her Nigerian background, and that country’s little-known but significant ceramic traditions. “I see a connection between the rhythmic and repetitive geometric patterning I use to decorate my pieces and the rhythm and repetition in music, and I reference the Abuja Pottery Training Centre in Nigeria, a pioneering destination for studio pottery, to ground my work in my heritage and history,” explains Atoe. “That’s the kind of cultural fusion I’m interested in building.”
While serious about her craft, Atoe doesn’t want her ceramics to be viewed with too much reverence. They’re meant to be used and enjoyed. It’s “functional pottery” after all, made from clay, which, as Atoe points out, is “dirt and it’s everywhere.”
“While I make, I think of the needs my pieces may fulfill, whether that’s morning coffee or tea, or a jug on your nightstand that you can reach for at 3 a.m. when you wake up thirsty,” she says. “The strength and meaning of my work only become evident through its incorporation into the lives of other people.” potterybyosa.com
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