I’ve recently been  working on tableware for Main Street Arts. I have always enjoyed eating off of handmade dinnerware, it is part of my everyday routine. Each day I get to choose my mug for coffee, my bowl for yogurt and my portion controlled plate for dinner. I enjoy sharing these rituals  with the people who made these pieces.

In preparing myself for this project, I thought back to a time before I was a ceramic artist. I grew up with mass produced dinnerware that was bland and stackable. My parents dislike the fact that I have mismatched dinnerware; unstackable and chaotic. So, to this day I keep a single place setting of handmade dishes at their house just for when I visit!

I wanted the  series I was making for Main Street Arts to be used everyday and I wanted it to be fun and playful.

Getting started…

To be fair, there are a few mass produced manufacturers that I really do love for what they are.  One of my favorite mass produced dishware manufacturers, which influenced this dinnerware for the gallery is Austrian Gmundner Keramik Ware.

I ate off their  everydayware when I worked for potters at Lyon Clay Studio during the start of my ceramic career.  I loved the simplicity of the forms and the fluidity of the brush work. I have always loved mark making and it has been a huge part of my own functional ware.

Soon, you be able to purchase this exclusive series of everyday tableware from the Main Street Arts online gallery shop. Keep following this blog series as well as their social media for updates!

Part One: Inside the Artist’s Studio with Samantha Stumpf: Ongoing Inspiration
Part Three: Inside the Artist’s Studio with Samantha Stumpf: A Little Bit of Process…