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samirahsteinmeyer.bsky.social
Samirah
@samirahsteinmeyer.bsky.social
1.2K followers 270 following 530 posts
ceramics | minerals and rocks | landscapes | earthy distractions

samirahsteinmeyer.com
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samirahsteinmeyer.bsky.social
My landscapes always look like they're at risk of collapsing. Want a little precariousness with your favorite beverage?

There's a band of igneous stones embedded and fired into the porcelain.

#ceramicart #ceramics #pottery #pottersofbluesky #ceramicsofbluesky #porcelain #geological #cacti #desert
September 26, 2025 at 2:31 AM
samirahsteinmeyer.bsky.social
Meet my Sky Islands clear glaze! The recipe consists of 90% locally scavenged calcium carb, quartz, and feldspar (1st photo). 2nd photo shows earlier attempts at making a clear desert mineral/rock glaze.

#geology #rocks #minerals #ceramics #ceramicglaze #glazenerd #pottersofbluesky #artprocess
A porcelain test tiles showing a clear glaze made from the minerals and rock just behind the tile. Three porcelain test tiles in the foreground. Left to right: The left tile is a gritty primitive attempt at making a rock glaze using local materials. The middle tile is another attempt using local materials that created a tan, cracking glaze. The right tile is finally looking like a clear glaze! Yay!
May 17, 2025 at 10:11 PM
samirahsteinmeyer.bsky.social
Over here sculpting rocks with rocks in the rocks.

#rocks #minerals #geology #ceramics #ceramic #workinprogress #potteryofbluesky #pottersofbluesky #ceramicstudio #desert #handmadecup #cactus #landscape
April 29, 2025 at 12:46 AM
samirahsteinmeyer.bsky.social
An older design to share for #InverteFest. Very few people enjoy seeing a #cockroach on a mug they're drinking from, which is why I just had to make these. Only a customer with a particular sense of humor brings this into their home.
#potteryofbluesky #ceramicmug #ceramics #wheelthrown #bugs #roach
April 26, 2025 at 10:02 PM
samirahsteinmeyer.bsky.social
Another post for #InverteFest

The Palo Verde Beetle, one of my favorite local invertebrates. They emerge during the monsoon season in the Sonoran Desert and freak people out due to their size and clumsy flying style. They're harmless and I love them.
#beetle #ceramics #pottersofbluesky #pottery
Four wheel thrown stoneware mugs, each decorated with one Palo Verde Beetle that I sculpted and glazed with a black-brown glaze. The top exterior is glazed in sky blue and the bottom is left unglazed. This sweetie is a Palo Verde Beetle clinging to a branch on a Sweet Acacia tree in my yard. They're notoriously clumsy and when they emerge I'm on the lookout for any that need help after accidentally landing onto their backs and need to be flipped over.
April 25, 2025 at 3:31 PM
samirahsteinmeyer.bsky.social
Sharing for #InverteFest

(Reposted bc I got the hashtag wrong the first time!)

I used to make tarantula mugs, this one was testing a neodymium glaze on the tarantula. Usually I glazed them in browns/blacks to resemble my local tarantulas.
#tarantula #arachnid #pottersofbluesky #ceramics #pottery
Wheel thrown porcelain mug with a tarantula I sculpted, glazed in a light purple neodymium glaze. Same mug, side view Same mug, side and handle view
April 24, 2025 at 7:05 PM
samirahsteinmeyer.bsky.social
For those of you who wanted to see how the 1/2 high fire stoneware + 1/2 low fire local clay blend test emerged from a mid range firing, see the first photo. Photos 2, 3 and 4 are the same local clay w nothing added, fired to different temps. More info in alt text.
#clay #wildclay #pottery #ceramics
A test bowl made with a blend of half high fire stoneware + half low fire local desert clay. The two clays together resulted in a mid fire blend. This is the same local clay but with no additives and fired to cone 01 (2046°F), its peak temperature. The next two photos show earlier tests that helped me determine its peak temp. This is the same local clay with no additives and fired to cone 1 (2079°F). It is overfired, indicated by bloating, lighter weight, and shinier surface. The same local clay, no additives, fired to cone 5 (2167°F). This is a verrrry overfired clay...it has gone from a tiny bowl shape to a slightly bubbly puddle. (In the background you can see other clay tests that also overfired).
April 23, 2025 at 5:53 PM
samirahsteinmeyer.bsky.social
I mixed a blend of 1/2 cone ten (2345°F) stoneware clay and 1/2 cone 01 (2046°F) local desert clay to find out what its firing temperature will be. I'm guessing it'll be mid range, but who knows!
#clay #wildclay #localclay #pottery #ceramics #pottersofbluesky #ceramicstudio
There are two bowls filled with dry clay. Top left: this clay is a very light tan high fire stoneware blend. Bottom: is a low fire brown local desert clay I gathered by the side of the road. Two small wheel thrown pots site to the right of the bowls to illustrate how a blend of the two clays looks. It's a light chocolate brown color.
April 22, 2025 at 11:47 PM
samirahsteinmeyer.bsky.social
I like locating rocks that I'm interested in identifying on a USGS map and then hiking to them. Yesterday I wanted to find fossils in Paleozoic limestone. Found the limestone. Not sure if what I found are fossils. It was a fun desert hike regardless.
#desert #geology #usgs #rocks #landscape #fossils
A young saguaro growing in a rock outcropping in Saguaro National Park. Grey Horquilla limestone from the Permian/Pennsylvanian Period with tan-brown inclusions that look similar to fossils I have found in this desert in the past. I'm not quite certain about these though. Another interesting form within the limestone. The USGS map. A key with different colors corresponding to specific rock groups is shown on the left. To the right is the topo map showing the location of each group.
April 21, 2025 at 9:00 PM
samirahsteinmeyer.bsky.social
Mixing stoneware clay and dehydrating it on a plaster slab before wedging. This is the part of the creative cycle where I prep my materials for the next batch of pots.

Online shop closes tonight, then reopens after this next batch is completed.
#clay #stoneware #pottersofbluesky #pottery #ceramics
In the foreground is a bucket with a mixture of three clays, minerals, and water. It is poured onto a plaster slab so it can firm up a bit, then removed using a plastic rib tool, then wedged into smaller lumps of ready to use clay.
April 18, 2025 at 8:40 PM
samirahsteinmeyer.bsky.social
Anthropocene fossil mug.

www.samirahsteinmeyer.com

#pottery #potteryofbluesky #pottersofbluesky #ceramicart #ceramics #ceramic #ceramicmug #anthropocene #coffeemug #natureinspired #geological #desert #desertlandscape #cacti
I'm holding a porcelain mug that I sculpted to resemble a rocky outcropping with a fossilized human skull and cacti growing around it. The upper portion of the mug is glazed in a turquoise green. Available at samirahsteinmeyer.com
April 17, 2025 at 8:13 PM
samirahsteinmeyer.bsky.social
Feeling inspired by this rock I found yesterday, made by my absolute favorite artist, Nature herself. What a show off✨️

#ceramicmaterials #geology #geological #rocks #granite #muscovite #inspiration
April 14, 2025 at 6:09 PM
samirahsteinmeyer.bsky.social
Ever want to wander into the desert, lay on a boulder and watch clouds float by? I want to just hear birds, wind and no words for a bit.

Desert inspired tumblers, cups and altars available in my ceramics shop: www.samirahsteinmeyer.com

#pottery #ceramics #desert #cacti #ceramiccup #landscape #art
I'm holding a ceramic cup with sky blue glaze decorated with a sculpted, rock outcropping and two cacti nestled within. Inspired by my Sonoran Desert.
April 14, 2025 at 12:58 AM
samirahsteinmeyer.bsky.social
When your country is imploding due to completely avoidable, manufactured chaos, greed etc how does one respond? By continuing to make fancy pots, of course🫠
Restock Sunday at 2pm, PST.
#pottersofbluesky #potteryofbluesky #ceramicart #ceramics #pottery #clayart #functionalart #desert #geology #art
April 12, 2025 at 5:08 PM
samirahsteinmeyer.bsky.social
Using a digital microscope to explore the landscapes within the glaze drips on one fresh new cup. I spent hours filled with awe and curiosity while wandering around entire places invisible to the naked eye.
#glazenerd #ceramicglaze #glazechemistry #potteryofbluesky #sciart #microscopic #ceramics
A stoneware cup with a homemade Caliche Aventurine glaze, with juicy crystalline drips. A magnified, microscopic view within a glaze drip. On the left is a pattern of dappled and striated blues and greens overlaid on the right by a shimmery, iridescent crystal. A magnified, microscopic view within a glaze drip. It looks like a vibrant green dragon's eye or a green leafy structure with a golden crystal formation above the green. A magnified, microscopic view within a glaze drip. I see a rabbit like face and ears within a purple and golden crystalline formation.
April 4, 2025 at 5:10 PM
samirahsteinmeyer.bsky.social
Even my skull looks exhausted.

#pottersofbluesky #pottery #potteryofbluesky #porcelain #ceramics #ceramic #ceramicart #skull #rocks #artshare #art #cacti
A wheel thrown porcelain mug decorated to resemble a crumbling rock outcropping with a sculpted skull, moss, and actual rocks embedded. Five blooming cacti have sprouted from the skull.
April 3, 2025 at 11:05 PM
samirahsteinmeyer.bsky.social
The Caliche Aventurine glaze flowed off a few cups while in the kiln. I know I should sand those drips off, but what if I give whomever buys it the option to sand or not to sand? I love how the cup is a bit imbalanced but won't tip over.
#glazenerd #ceramics #pottery #potteryofbluesky #ceramicglaze
A porcelain cup glazed with a homemade Caliche Aventurine, with calcium carbonate from my backyard. This glaze has a dark background comprised of a gradient from black to dark brown with subtle hints of green and purple. In the foreground are iron crystals varying in size and density, flowing downward like a crystalline shower. A view of the bottom of the cup, showing how the glaze flowed off the cup in two spots to form perfectly suspended drips. The drips did not hit the kiln shelf, fortunately.
March 27, 2025 at 10:18 PM
samirahsteinmeyer.bsky.social
Processing an experience of the beauty I see in my local mountains through my ceramic work. I'm drawn to granite slabs with ribbons of moss or veins of quartz within fractures.

#pottersofbluesky #pottery #potteryofbluesky #ceramics #ceramicart #geology #landscape #rocks #art #pluton #ceramiccup
A wheel thrown stoneware cup on a table surrounded by plants. The cup is sculpted to resemble a slab of granite with moss and veins of actual rocks embedded into the clay. The upper portion of the cup is glazed in a warm taupe color.
March 26, 2025 at 11:09 PM
samirahsteinmeyer.bsky.social
Porcelain clay vase in progress. Sculpting and slicing and poking till it looks right.

#pottersofbluesky #potteryofbluesky #art #sculpture #functionalart #ceramicart #ceramics #geology #nature #landscape #rocks #porcelain #handmadepottery #artinprogress #artoftheday
An unfired, unglazed, wheelthrown porcelain vase with sculpted elements added that resemble geological formations, veins of moss and actual rocks embedded in the clay. The vase is on a table surrounded by ceramic tools.
March 21, 2025 at 10:59 PM
samirahsteinmeyer.bsky.social
I got a bit carried away with this mug. She feels so fancy, like La Catrina, but totally down to hang out under a pile of cacti and rocks right now...maybe watch the sunset...

#pottersofbluesky #ceramics #ceramic #ceramicart #art #pottery #workinprogress #selfportrait #ceramicmug #handmademug #clay
An unfired, unglazed porcelain mug sculpted to resemble a crumbling rock outcropping with cacti. Under the cacti is a sculpted skull.
March 19, 2025 at 11:15 PM
samirahsteinmeyer.bsky.social
Made so you can daydream about hiking through desert canyons while drinking your coffee. I certainly daydream about them while sculpting each mug.

#pottersofbluesky #ceramics #ceramic #ceramicart #ceramicmug #handmademug #pottery #mug #desertlandscape #desert
A ceramic mug sculpted to resemble a miniature segment of a rocky desert canyon. A group of five cacti are perched in a rocky cliff, as well as two small cacti tucked within the handle (carved to look like precariously stacked rocks.
March 17, 2025 at 9:57 PM
samirahsteinmeyer.bsky.social
Some cactus+boulder pics from today's wander through the desert.

#desert #landscape #cacti #rocks #sonorandesert #saguaro
To the left of the photo is a closeup of a saguaro with dark columns of spines on bright apple green skin. The right side of the photo shows a desert landscape. A closeup of a boulder with a little concave compartment where a cholla cactus segment ended up. In the background is a desert landscape and a few saguaros.
March 17, 2025 at 1:37 AM
samirahsteinmeyer.bsky.social
A miniature ceramic landscape to momentarily interrupt the barrage of chaotic news. Where do you turn for balance? I find balance spending time in nature, making things with clay, solitude, time spent with loved ones...
#pottersofbluesky #ceramicart #ceramics #landscape #desert #art #miniature #clay
A miniature depiction of a rocky desert landscape, with cactus sculptures surrounding a reflective, blue pool and a single cactus perched on a rock within the pool. A tiny integrated vase within a rock outcropping holds dried yarrow flowers that resemble a tree.
March 12, 2025 at 10:22 PM
samirahsteinmeyer.bsky.social
In Arizona, on National Forest Land. Every act of resistance counts. #protectpubliclands #protectourparks #resist
A tall rock formation in a US National Forest in Arizona with an upside down American flag, a symbol of distress or political protest.
March 12, 2025 at 4:36 AM
samirahsteinmeyer.bsky.social
A perpetual caliche aventurine glaze, inspired by perpetual stews that can continue cooking for decades with fresh ingredients added. Glaze batch 2 was added to batch 1, using a different caliche for a slight variation in appearance.

#pottersofbluesky #ceramics #ceramicglaze #glazenerd #pottery
A cup with an aventurine glaze made with local calcium carbonate rock, caliche. Each batch looks slightly different because of variations in the chemical composition of the caliche. This one has teeny glittery sparkles in a black glaze matrix along the rim, the crystals gradually growing in size taking on a coppery color and drifting downwards in a reddish brown and greenish glaze matrix. The crystals rain down, gathering in a carpet along the bottom of the cup.
March 12, 2025 at 12:58 AM