Pottery by Osa

Nigerian American studio potter (she/her) 
Gulf Coast Florida 
Tap “Media” for pottery content 👇🏾 
Solar powered home & studio 🌞 
I get verbose in the #alttext  

PFP: selfie. dark skinned Black woman with shoulder length locs wearing sunglasses. Blurred white beach sand and stormy sky background. 

Header: A collection of intricately designed pottery pieces, including jars, cups, and a lidded container collaged on top of photo of a multicolored clay deposit.

Website: https://www.potterybyosa.com
Gardening Account: https://mastodon.green/@PermaSolarPotter

Last Notes

2025-09-23 14:13:30 UTC

I included these pieces in the exhibition that opened Sunday. The middle piece features the crackled, fragmented surface I wrote about a few weeks back. The two pieces on either end were formed with clay collected from a construction site in Sarasota County and are unglazed. Up close, you can see the grainy sediment including small, black fossil fragments. The Earth is its own document, leaving a record for us to decipher. #WildClay #alttext
https://files.mastodon.social/media_attachments/files/115/253/871/472/236/888/original/4e21138f9378cdf6.jpeg

2025-09-03 12:43:45 UTC

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I was just in Kitchener for a wedding. What are the odds? Have fun!

2025-08-30 18:00:27 UTC

Nina Simone “Take Me to the Water”
https://youtu.be/N1xWFo8xEu8

2025-08-23 16:29:08 UTC

I have so many thoughts on #deminimis Etsy, EBay, Amazon, Temu, SHEIN, small handmade businesses, etc. None of my views are black and white and I can’t fit them in the allotted word count and I don’t feel like making a giant thread about it either.
I guess what would be most helpful at this moment is to gather small #handmade sellers into a global support group to share ideas on how to survive this disruption. I wonder if @npub1zym…j3n7 could organize something like this.

2025-08-08 01:59:43 UTC

I formed this mug on the wheel and waited for it to dry to the point where it’s no longer tacky, but still soft and flexible. This is the perfect time to apply stamped texture! I make roulette stamps by carving into a coil of clay. I roll the stamp from bottom to top, which softens the form and gives the rim a bit of undulation. This adds a subtle layer of detail and gesture over which I will add my carved geometric patterning. I just wanted to show this phase because I really love it. #pottery
https://files.mastodon.social/media_attachments/files/114/990/576/178/274/819/original/63ebaea631fe9a28.jpeg

2025-08-03 17:00:00 UTC

I started using #Kagi search engine today on a trial basis to see how I like it. As a blog writer who really cares about my web presence, it makes me sad to know that the majority of people will end up reading summaries rather than visiting websites. I’ve put in a lot of effort making my website beautiful and educational—much more than just a sales platform. Using images & video more may be the way to go. Summaries can’t replace that kind of content. I just made a @npub18p3…ks2l account.

2025-07-31 21:19:33 UTC

I just finished another batch of garden ollas. They’re drying in the sun now and I’ll fire them later this evening. Afterward they’ll be a nice, rich terracotta red.
The one in these photos is the smallest size (for smaller outdoor containers or very thirsty houseplants). They’re the most challenging to make because I wheel throw them upside down.
#OllasByOsa #gardening #SustainableGardening #pottery #alttext
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2025-07-24 16:12:36 UTC

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I looked into it and it’s just so, so expensive for the buyer. Also, it’s just not environmentally sustainable. Domestic e-commerce isn’t optimal, but I need it to make a living. I make such small batches of work, it really just doesn’t make sense to ship all over the globe. I’m positive there are many, many talented potters in your country. I encourage you to find and support them :)

2025-07-24 15:36:21 UTC

Awesome photos from an invitational gallery show that opened this week. I shared these ewers in a previous post just after they’d come out of the kiln, but it’s wonderful to see my work grouped with others’ and displayed in such a pleasing, rhythmic way. What an honor to be included with some of the most talented ceramic artists in the country. #pottery #ceramics #handmade #mastodonart #gallery
https://files.mastodon.social/media_attachments/files/114/908/888/749/688/602/original/e31a58a7e0e51d35.jpeg
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2025-06-29 18:31:06 UTC

A 12 yr old Black girl came to my Juneteenth workshop and sculpted this small terracotta bust—focused, joyful, sure of herself. I had just returned from #AugustaSavage’s hometown the night before (see previous posts). As a child, Savage was beaten for sculpting #clay animals. (Her dad was a preacher and saw them as idols.) She faced endless obstacles over her lifetime, but kept creating. Seeing this young artist reminded me: her path is clearer now because of those who came before. #KidsArt
https://files.mastodon.social/media_attachments/files/114/768/051/951/900/318/original/dd468ff2697758ac.jpeg

2025-06-19 14:17:19 UTC

#Juneteenth hits different this year after visiting Virginia. Florida was mostly settled after the Civil War so the vestiges of slavery aren’t in my face every day. In Virginia, I had to drive down Robert E Lee Blvd and turn onto Plantation Dr. Every brick on the campus where the conference was held was made by enslaved ppl. Every building built by the enslaved. It really makes you feel like it all happened very recently. 160 years isn’t a long time.

2025-06-17 15:49:54 UTC

I’ll be celebrating #Juneteenth with another edition of Rhythms of Clay at an Arts Festival hosted by the Westcoast Black Theater Troupe in Sarasota, Florida. Once again, we’ll be teaching Black youth about the udu, a #Nigerian clay drum. They’ll have the opportunity to make a large drum collectively and create their own small percussion instruments from #clay. Materials provided by #KaaboClay and Highwater Clays of Florida. Happy Juneteenth everyone! #pottery #ceramics #BlackHistory
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2025-05-05 22:55:46 UTC

I can't believe I'm only just now hearing about this. #MarcyRheintgen, a young transwoman from Illinois came to #Florida and, in a planned act of #CivilDisobedience, flouted the #trans bathroom ban by entering a women's bathroom inside the State Capitol and simply washing her hands. She was arrested on the spot and has been charged with 11 months in a men's prison.
“The Civil Disobedience of Marcy Rheintgen”: https://www.reddit.com/r/MI_transgender_friend/comments/1jpr373/the_civil_disobedience_of_marcy_rheintgen/?rdt=40698

2025-04-30 19:42:58 UTC

“I take mud and turn it into something tangible, hopeful even. But hope feels like a tricky companion in times like these. I’ve been thinking about how politics and climate impacts those of us running small, local #pottery studios. Our work depends not just on creativity, but also on stability—a steady supply of materials, the ability to ship, a community that can afford to buy #handmade work, and galleries that can stay open. All of those feel increasingly precarious.”
https://pagekellyzephyrvalleyceramics.substack.com/p/making-pots-in-hard-times

2025-04-24 17:55:40 UTC

My instincts to start making ollas this winter were spot on. We’re experiencing intense drought that began late fall 2024 and this, along with our sandy soils, has made #gardening challenging. Last month, I made this large custom olla to deliver rainwater to my plantain pups. Since then, they’ve steadily put on new leaves. I companion planted sweet potatoes & marigolds beneath the plantains and everything is hydrated & happy, using about 70% less water than surface watering. #OllasByOsa
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