Instagram story viewer> @larkdesignvt> Posts

Lark Wagner

@larkdesignvt

1.2K

followers

1299

following

Ceramic artist + professional potter
Functional pottery + pottery classes
Winhall + Manchester, Vermont
↓ Shop + upcoming classes

POSTS STORIES REELS

You can take the potter out of the studio, but you can’t stop them from turning over every ceramic dish they come across. 😂

At a restaurant? Picking up the plate to check out the foot ring. At a friend’s house? Turning over their coffee mugs. Shopping? Inspecting every bowl, cup, and handmade ceramic piece in sight.

We’re looking at the glaze, the clay body, the throwing lines, the trimming, the craftsmanship, the maker’s mark… basically everything nobody else is paying attention to.

And somehow, there’s always a cup of coffee or a glass of water involved. Which inevitably gets spilled while we’re busy inspecting the bottom of a plate.

It’s a pottery thing. We can’t help ourselves.

Fellow potters, please tell me this isn’t just me. 😂

#PotteryLife #PotterProblems #cantstopwontstop #artistprobs #potteryhumor by @larkdesignvt

One minute it’s a lump of clay the next a Ramen bowl

Honestly, I think I might be getting too comfortable with my powers 😆

Also shout out to @studioprobats I’ve been using this bat system for years and it has really stood the test of time. Plus the owner is wonderful and kind and a local Vermont business! Thank you for making such an exceptional and user friendly system!
#halloweenmagic #wheelthrownceramics #ramenbowl #functionalart #sillyart by @larkdesignvt

I’m constantly collecting color palettes. The funny thing is, I never know when or where I’m going to find one.

A trip to Morocco, hiking through the woods in Wyoming, going to Albany to pick out fish for my son, or stumbling across a mysterious swimming hole.

I’m always noticing colors, taking photos, and mentally filing them away. Eventually, those moments find their way into my pottery.

Color is my biggest creative influence. I love how colors interact, how one shade changes the way another looks, and how the right combination can make you feel something without knowing why.

That’s color theory in action. Complementary colors create contrast and energy. Analogous colors feel harmonious and connected. Warm and cool tones play off each other, and even a tiny shift in saturation or value can change a palette’s entire mood. The same blue can feel calm next to one color and electric next to another.

When I’m glazing pottery, I’m thinking about all of this. How will these glazes interact? Will they create contrast, depth, or subtle transitions? How will overlapping glazes move in the kiln? What happens when a favorite color meets another glaze and becomes something unexpected?

Glazing is part color theory, part experimentation, and honestly, part crossing my fingers when I open the kiln. 😂

These are some of the places I’ve found inspiration and the pottery that came out of it. Different landscapes, experiences, and color stories finding their way into wheel-thrown ceramics and glaze combinations.

Inspiration doesn’t have to come from an art museum or a planned creative outing. Sometimes it’s a landscape, a reflection in the water, the fog lifting , or an ordinary Tuesday that gives you the exact color combination you didn’t know you were looking for.

What colors are you always drawn to? Bold, high-contrast palettes or earthy, muted tones?

#Cone6 #colortheoryart #glazemagic #glazetest potteryinspo by @larkdesignvt

My pottery obsession has officially entered the LEGO universe. 😂🏺🎃

A student’s daughter gifted me this tiny LEGO version of myself, and honestly, she understood the assignment. 😂 Now miniature me is throwing clay, making tiny pots, loading the kiln, and hoping everything survives the firing. Some things never change!

From the pottery wheel to the kiln, it’s the same endless cycle of making, trimming, glazing, firing, and immediately wanting to make more ceramic art. Apparently, even my LEGO self can’t stay out of the pottery studio.

Happy Halloween from Lark Ceramics! 👻🖤
#PotteryMaking #Kilnloading #PotteryHumor #LEGOStopMotion #HalloweenPottery by @larkdesignvt

Everyone says money can’t buy happiness, but I don’t know… I’m pretty darn happy drinking my morning coffee out of a handmade mug. ☕️

Handmade takes time. It takes thought, care, and a whole lot of love for the process. And I think you can feel that when you hold a piece of pottery, when you reach for it every morning, and when it becomes part of your everyday rituals.

Handmade is a luxury. Slow-made is an even bigger one.

Every piece is a little different. A tiny variation, an unexpected detail, a slight imperfection — those are the things that remind you it wasn’t mass-produced. It was made by hand, by a real person, and it’s one of a kind.

Sure, you can buy a mug at Starbucks. But when you buy a handmade mug, you’re buying a little piece of an artist’s journey. Someone dreamed it up, designed it, threw it on the wheel, trimmed it, fired it, glazed it, fired it again, and carefully packed it up, hoping it would make its way to you safely and become something you reach for and cherish every day.

My wheel-thrown pottery doesn’t come from a factory. It isn’t mass-produced or pressed out of a mold. Every piece passes through my hands, and every piece is a little different.

And when you buy from a small artist, you’re doing more than buying a mug. You’re supporting someone’s dreams, their family, and their ability to keep making art. You’re helping keep creativity, thoughtful design, and the ceramic arts alive.

So yeah, maybe money can buy a little happiness. Especially when it comes in the form of your favorite handmade mug, filled with really good coffee. 🤎

What’s your favorite handmade piece that you reach for every single day?

#cone6 #potteryprocess #wheelthrownceramics #glazeporn #vermontpottery by @larkdesignvt

Some days I’m throwing pots to fill orders or restock the shelves. Other days, I’m making what I think people will buy. Today, I made whatever the hell I felt like. 🙌

Sometimes I get so caught up in what I need to make that I forget how much I actually LOVE making pottery.

Today, every lamp I threw came out beautifully, and I honestly think it’s because there was zero pressure. No orders to fill, no stock to replenish. Just me, the wheel, and the joy of making something.

I danced around my studio to the best mix of ’70s/’80s punk, and had the best time. The only downside? Every video I filmed has me dancing, so when I speed them up, I look like I’m having some random spasms.

10/10 would recommend.

Feeling ridiculously grateful for a day like this. A good reminder that sometimes the best thing you can do for your work is to stop worrying about what you should be making and just make something because it makes you happy.

Now, the real challenge begins: figuring out the glaze combo for this lamp. 🤔

#potteryprocess #joyofcreating #vermontpottery #glazedandconfused #ceramiclamp by @larkdesignvt

Currently in my pottery era and honestly… I don’t see myself leaving anytime soon. 🏺🤎

Making pottery, throwing clay on the wheel, experimenting with glazes, trimming pots, unloading kilns, making a mess, and convincing myself I definitely need to make just one more mug. 😂

From wheel-thrown ceramics and handmade pottery to functional stoneware, colorful glazes, and one-of-a-kind ceramic pieces, there’s always something new to try. And somehow, there’s never enough shelf space.

If you’re also in your pottery era, consider this your sign to keep making things with your hands. ✨

What’s your current creative obsession?

#cone6 #stoneware #glazemagic #kilnunloading #girlbosslife by @larkdesignvt

When the big light is too much. A one of a kind handmade ceramic lamp does the trick. The first of many ceramic lamps I’ll be making. Fun to make and even more fun to share.

#ceramicartist #deepbreaths #handmadepottery #vermontbyvermonters by @larkdesignvt

I’m a little obsessed with how these stacking cups turned out. 😍☕️

The shape, the way they fit together… I just love them. They’re about to go in the kiln, so now we cross our fingers and hope they come out just as good as they look going in. 🤞🔥

Wish these little guys luck!!

#handmadewithlove #localartist #potteryprocess #VermontCeramics #potterylife by @larkdesignvt

Coffee, a little clay, and some time to make something with my hands before the day gets away from me. ☕️

Everyone has their own little morning rituals, and I’m always curious about them.

What’s the one thing you do in the morning that makes you feel like yourself?

#MorningRitual #PotteryProcess #CeramicsStudio #PotteryLife #womeninbusiness by @larkdesignvt

Coffee just tastes better in a handmade mug. ☕️

A little more personality for your daily caffeine fix, and a pretty cool way to support a local artist instead of buying mass-produced.

These travel mugs are available! DM me to claim yours. ❤️

#HandmadeCeramics #CeramicTravelMug #ShopLocalVermont #SupportLocalArtists #LarkCeramics by @larkdesignvt

kiln opening on MARKET DAY?! 😅🫠

because apparently I like to live life on hard mode.

Nothing like unloading a kiln, hoping everything came out the way you imagined, and immediately having to decide what’s making the cut for the market in approximately 5 minutes.

The kiln gods were mostly on my side this time and most items are already sold. Phew… on to the next

#kilnhaul #kilnunloading #potterylife #vermontmakers #ceramicartist by @larkdesignvt