Good Elephant Pottery is the work of Mea Rhee
I am a functional potter, my work is both
wheel-thrown and slab-built. I make mostly foodware, but also
decorative items such as lidded jars, vases, and lanterns. Most of my
pots are fired to cone 6 in oxidation, and are durable enough to be
used everyday, including in the microwave, dishwasher, and oven.
My aesthetics are guided by my Korean heritage,
Maryland upbringing, and graphic design education. My pots are minimal
and rustic. Above all, they are functional. I make them gray and
brown—the colors of rocks and dirt—so they are like natural
objects that have been dug out of the ground.
My goal is to make pots that appeal to anyone who
wants a stylish and functional home, while always satisfying the
cravings of serious pottery geeks.
I have been practicing pottery since 1994, when I
signed up for a course in wheel-thrown pottery and was unable to stop
thinking about it! It challenged me physically, psychologically, and
artistically, and continues to do so today. I consider myself
“self-taught” in that I am not formally trained in
ceramics, though I have been inspired by many wonderful pottery
teachers along the way. One of the best rewards of my current pottery
life is that I now get to teach pottery to others.
For now, I am still a part-time potter. I am also
a graphic designer,
though the pottery business is steadily gaining a larger percentage of
my time. I run both the design and pottery studios from my home in
Silver Spring, Maryland, just outside of Washington, DC.
