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octopotter.bsky.social
@octopotter.bsky.social
88 followers 76 following 230 posts
Retired software engineer, amateur potter.
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octopotter.bsky.social
casserole dish. notice the tentacles escaping out the bottom.
blue green lidded dish with brown black and tan octopus on top
November 3, 2025 at 3:45 AM
octopotter.bsky.social
Out of the kiln this weekend. This was an exercise in layering colored slips and glazes to get variations in color and texture.

#pottery
#ceramics
#handmade
#pottersofbluesky
Squarish plate roughly split along the diagonal into an ocean half and a sandy half. The ocean has a wavy 3d texture with glossy blue and green glazes and the occasional off-white matte sea foam. The sandy portion is matte tan and satin cream glazes along with a small orange underglazed sea star.
October 28, 2025 at 3:16 AM
octopotter.bsky.social
New fossil theme handled soup bowl, with lizard “skeletons” on the sides
tables clay bowl, inside side of marbled clay bowl with white slip lizard skeleton other side of marbled clay bowl with white slip lizard skeleton
October 23, 2025 at 1:22 AM
octopotter.bsky.social
Halloween decorations (made last year)
ceramic lamp shade with black bat and pumpkin (evening) ceramic lamp shade with black bat and pumpkin (night)
October 18, 2025 at 1:57 AM
octopotter.bsky.social
Another work in progress. Marbled dark and light clay mug with slip trailed insects
brown and tan mug with white dragonflies brown and tan mug with white assassin bug brown and tan mug with white moth
September 29, 2025 at 3:36 AM
octopotter.bsky.social
Work in progress: casserole dish with octopus lid

#pottery
#ceramics
#handmade
#pottersofbluesky
#SciArt
#invertefest
September 28, 2025 at 2:33 AM
octopotter.bsky.social
Nautilus side of mug
September 22, 2025 at 12:24 AM
octopotter.bsky.social
Work in progress finally on the greenware cart:

- handled ramen bowl, marbled clay with lizard “fossils” in white slip
- marbled clay trilobite and nautilus “fossil” mug
September 22, 2025 at 12:22 AM
octopotter.bsky.social
Third times the charm on this yarn bowl: fired one more time after sanding smooth craters and dipping half way in a the coat of Noxema. The inside isn’t as pretty but the glaze is now smooth everywhere so it won’t snag yarn.
blue/brown/green bowl (outside) with a spiral cutout for threading yarn. Interior is red on the bottom, light grey on the lower half of the wall, and blue on the upper half and rim.
September 21, 2025 at 7:44 PM
octopotter.bsky.social
Ceramic sea urchin test, out of the kiln a few days ago

#pottery #ceramics #handmade #pottersofbluesky #SciArt#invertefest
ceramic sea urchin test on wood table. glaze is “steel blue” in reduction which comes out as reddish purple rather than blue.
September 12, 2025 at 2:44 AM
octopotter.bsky.social
Small textured vase, out from the kiln last week
Textured vase, glazed in Noxena over Woo Blue . The woo blue adds brown, white, and light blue, the noxema produces deep cobalt blue when thick and greenish brown when thin over the woo blue brown.
September 11, 2025 at 1:33 AM
octopotter.bsky.social
Starfish cookie jar, out of the kiln last week.
Ceramic cookie jar with lid. The top half of the jar and most of the lid is matte cream colored glaze. The bottom half and lid handle are a glossy blue green. Around the upper half there are starfish in various colors (blue, red, yellow) with tan sand colored matte glaze.
September 10, 2025 at 4:37 AM
octopotter.bsky.social
Pitcher! Using Oribe and my custom strontium blue/green glazes
Ceramic pitcher with a fat spherical belly and cylindrical top. The inside is glazed with “buttermilk”, top and rim are Oribe (light green with blue highlights) and the bottom is a custom blue green glaze from the spring glaze making class
August 21, 2025 at 1:45 AM
octopotter.bsky.social
After refiring, different craters showed up and the whole thing became browner :(
August 21, 2025 at 1:41 AM
octopotter.bsky.social
Latest yarn bowl out of the kiln. It has crater like glaze defects so it’s going to get refired

#pottery #ceramics #handmade #pottersofbluesky
Blue brown bowl with pink interior for yarn while knitting or crocheting. There is a spiral cutout to pass through thread without allowing the ball of yarn to escape.
August 9, 2025 at 4:19 AM
octopotter.bsky.social
Yarn bowl!
A ceramic bowl to hold yarn for knitting or crocheting. The bowl is has a round belly and a vertical lip with a spiral cut out for capturing the a thread. It is decorated at the top with blue and green glaze which drips down over a dark brown bottom half. A maroon ball of yarn is inside the bowl with a short thread passing through the center of the spiral.
August 2, 2025 at 4:31 AM
octopotter.bsky.social
Another “Fossil” planter pot with trilobite and nautilus shells. This one is a bit bigger than the last and I think the marbled clay worked better.

#pottery #ceramics #handmade #pottersofbluesky #SciArt
“Fossil” planter pot with trilobite and nautilus shells. The pot was thrown with mixed dark and light clays to form the “sedimentary” layers. White slip applied on top to form the “fossils”. In this view, one nautilus shell and one trilobite. “Fossil” planter pot with trilobite and nautilus shells. The pot was thrown with mixed dark and light clays to form the “sedimentary” layers. White slip applied on top to form the “fossils”. In this view, one nautilus shell and one trilobite “Fossil” planter pot with trilobite and nautilus shells. The pot was thrown with mixed dark and light clays to form the “sedimentary” layers. White slip applied on top to form the “fossils”. In this view, two different trilobites
August 1, 2025 at 9:06 PM
octopotter.bsky.social
Latest vase from the kiln, using the glaze I created in the glaze class. The goal was a translucent glaze that looks like ocean water and shows the texture underneath. This application was too thick so it achieves that only in bright sunlight.

#pottery #ceramics #pottersofbluesky #SciArt
Blue green vase with a white and tan nautilus shell relief Same vase from a different angle, that shows the underlying texture (wavy lines) but also shows lots of crazing. Ideally the glaze would be smooth without the crazing texture to make it more oceany.
July 31, 2025 at 9:05 PM
octopotter.bsky.social
One of the better photos from my hike this morning showing the sun breaking through the light fog on the trail.
A photo of a dirt trail surrounded by forest. The sun shines through the tree canopy and illuminates the thin fog in irregularly space radial lines
July 18, 2025 at 5:48 AM
octopotter.bsky.social
Another planter. I was hoping that the runny glaze would interact with the round dimples pushed into the clay in a more interesting way like it had in some smaller test pieces but it just kind of filled them in. 🤷🏻‍♂️

#pottery #ceramics
Planter pot and tray glazed in dark blue with white specs
July 15, 2025 at 6:06 PM
octopotter.bsky.social
“Fossil” planter pot with trilobite and nautilus shells.

#pottery #ceramics #handmade #pottersofbluesky #SciArt
“Fossil” planter pot with trilobite and nautilus shells. The pot was thrown with mixed dark and light clays to form the “sedimentary” layers. White slip applied on top to form the “fossils”. In this view, two nautilus shells and two trilobites (one fully visible, the other only partially visible).
July 13, 2025 at 12:10 AM
octopotter.bsky.social
A foggy hike on the coast
Cliffs over a beach and rocks with fog in the distance obscuring the cliff tops The sun breaking through the fog layer while 3 pelicans fly overhead.
July 10, 2025 at 10:30 PM
octopotter.bsky.social
Ceramic sea urchin shell (a “test” in biology)

#pottery #ceramics #handmade #pottersofbluesky #SciArt #invertefest
A blue/purple/brown ceramic pot in the shape of a sea urchin test: approximately a flattened sphere with longitudinal indentations and a hole at the top, with tiny spikes all around. top front view A blue/purple/brown ceramic pot in the shape of a sea urchin test: approximately a flattened sphere with longitudinal indentations and a hole at the top, with tiny spikes all around. side/top view A blue/purple/brown ceramic pot in the shape of a sea urchin test: approximately a flattened sphere with longitudinal indentations and a hole at the top, with tiny spikes all around. mostly side view in shade A blue/purple/brown ceramic pot in the shape of a sea urchin test: approximately a flattened sphere with longitudinal indentations and a hole at the top, with tiny spikes all around. mostly top view in shade
July 1, 2025 at 12:04 AM
octopotter.bsky.social
Another “fossil” planter pot in progress: thrown pot with mix dark and light clay and decorated with white slip

#pottery #ceramics #handmade #pottersofbluesky #SciArt
Planter pot in greenware state made of mixed light in dark clay in horizontal layers, with white slip “trilobites” decorating the side. 2nd view. Planter pot in greenware state made of mixed light in dark clay in horizontal layers, with white slip “trilobites” decorating the side. 3rd view. Planter pot in greenware state made of mixed light in dark clay in horizontal layers, with white slip “trilobite” and a spiral shell decorating the side. 4th view. Planter pot in greenware state made of mixed light in dark clay in horizontal layers, with white slip “trilobite” and a spiral shell decorating the side.
June 14, 2025 at 3:37 PM
octopotter.bsky.social
More work in progress: throw. mixed dark and light clay planter decorated with white slip “fossils”
Greenware stage ceramic planter with trilobite nautilus decorations
June 12, 2025 at 8:57 PM