Pottery by Liz Zlot Summerfield

Pottery by Liz Zlot Summerfield

Liz Zlot Summerfield makes beautiful, distinctive home kitchen items out of soft slab clay. All of her creations have an unmistakable handmade feel to them, giving them a personality that immediately sets them apart from mass-produced kitchenware. Everything she makes has a truly endearing warmth to it, and it’s easy to fall in love with her salt and pepper shakers, cream and sugar sets, and decorative containers at first sight.

One of the first things you notice is the lightheartedness and playfulness of her work. A lot of her kitchenware actually bears a resemblance to fondant icing, the kind that is used to cover decorative cakes. So much so that you almost find yourself thinking in flavors as you look at them. Her entire collection is animated by a very homey sense of joy and comfort. The textures, shapes, and colors she uses all help to infuse her artwork with this feeling.

Pottery by Liz Zlot Summerfield 4

One of the neat things about Liz’s work is that you get a strong tactile sense of her items just by looking at them, with their alternating bands of glazed and unglazed stripes and the patterns she uses to decorate them. Her cups in particular offer an unusual diversity of patterns and finishes compared to typical coffee mugs, and you can’t help thinking this is on purpose, knowing that these items are going to spend a lot of time in people’s hands. Just looking at one of her cups makes you want to run your fingers over it to feel its different surfaces.

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Liz is also a dedicated instructor, leading workshops in different locations where she teaches the finer points of working with soft slab clay. She also has an instructional DVD entitled “Handbuilt Forms With Soft Slabs” that you can buy on her website, where you’ll also find lots of pottery ready for purchase, information about upcoming workshops, and even a few video clips from her DVD. If you’re looking for the perfect gift for a pottery lover you know, whether it’s a piece of finished art or an instructional video (or even an in-person workshop class), you should definitely check out Liz’s website.

Pottery by Liz Zlot Summerfield 2

Pottery by Liz Zlot Summerfield 1