Elaine Agnew Pottery
A carved stoneware casserole with a domed, hand-textured lid, glazed in honey ochre and resting on a walnut table in warm light.

StonewareOne of a kind

Elaine Agnew

Functional vessels and sculptural forms,
made by hand, one piece at a time.

Scroll

Each piece begins on the wheel or in the hand, and leaves the kiln as the only one of its kind.

Selected work

The vessels

Every piece is unique. Most shown here are available, and similar forms may be commissioned.

  • Pierced VesselThrown, hand-cut lid
  • Ridged Lidded JarThrown, slate glaze
  • Faceted BowlSlab-built, satin white
  • Indigo JarThrown, amber rim
  • Branch VesselCoil-built, sculpted handle
  • Pressed Leaf PlatesSlab-built, leaf impression
  • Carved CasseroleThrown, hand-carved lid
  • Tidewater MugThrown, layered cobalt
  • Celadon JarThrown, celadon glaze
  • Pierced Square VaseSlab-built, pierced lid
  • Indigo Jar, SmallThrown, amber rim
  • Leaf Plate, DetailSlab-built, leaf impression
  • Indigo Jars, GroupedThrown, mixed glazes
  • Vessel with Root HandleCoil-built, sculpted
  • Faceted Bowl, SideSlab-built, satin white
  • Pierced Vessel, FrontThrown, hand-cut lid
  • Indigo Jars, PairThrown, amber rim
  • Pierced Square Vase, DetailSlab-built, pierced lid
  • Casserole with JarsThrown, mixed glazes
  • Ridged Lidded Jar, TallThrown, slate glaze
  • Root Handle, DetailCoil-built, sculpted
  • Two-Handled VaseThrown, pulled handles
  • Basket VaseSlab-built, pierced strap handle
  • Pierced Vessel, VerdigrisThrown, hand-cut folded lid
  • Iris VaseThrown, lug handles
  • Lupine VaseThrown, verdigris glaze
  • Vase with Folded CollarThrown, folded rim
  • Pitcher VaseThrown, folded spout
  • Tulip VaseThrown, lug handles
  • Rose VaseThrown, lug handles
  • Lidded CanisterThrown, verdigris glaze with amber rim
Close detail of a hand-carved casserole lid, each mark cut individually into the clay.
Carved lid, detail

In the studio

Thrown, built, and carved by hand.

Some forms come off the wheel in a single, quiet pull. Others are built slowly from slabs and coils, their edges folded and pierced, their surfaces carved mark by mark before the glaze goes on. The method follows the piece.

  • Wheel-thrown
  • Slab-built
  • Coil-built
  • Hand-carved
  • Leaf-pressed

About

Elaine Agnew

I make one-of-a-kind stoneware, moving between the wheel, slab, coil and other hand-building methods to arrive at forms that could only have been made this way, by these hands.

My work sits between the functional and the sculptural: lidded jars meant for a kitchen shelf, casseroles with lids carved like seed heads, vessels crowned with root and branch forms pulled from the clay itself. I layer my glazes and let them move in the kiln, so no two surfaces resolve the same way.

Every piece is made to be held as well as looked at.

Inquire about a piece
Elaine Agnew standing beside her booth at an outdoor show, surrounded by shelves of her green-glazed pottery and fresh flowers.
Elaine at a summer show

Inquire

Purchase or commission

Most of the pieces shown are available. If one has stayed with you, or you would like something made for a particular place or table, send a note and Elaine will reply directly.

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