Week In Review 09.27.2026

It’s always strange coming back to an empty studio after dropping off my pieces to be fired.

It becomes a blank slate once again. The shelves clear and ready for more creations to fill them back up.

But it can also be intimidating. I often reference the drying pieces for design elements that I had liked while crafting, and to make sure I am not over repeating a pattern subconsciously.

While some of my pieces are planned, I mostly craft intuitively. Starting with a singular idea or theme in mind, and seeing where the time takes me.

My most recent pieces have all been unplanned, and I am confident now in my vision for Solace that I wont have any issues filling those shelves up once again.

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For the first time ever, I stepped in front of the camera this week. Not to silently film my process through making a piece. Or to ASMR glaze some bisque ware. But to chat, to show myself and put myself out there.

Has the video been edited yet? No.

But I did it! Twice!

A huge step for me, as someone who hates being recorded. Odd that…I love modeling for photographs, I modeled for my friends in college and they did the same for me (I hold a Bachelors in Photography), but the second it becomes a video it becomes terrifying.

Still, the only way to get better is to practice. And the only way to start is to start. And I started!

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The week ahead will see me back in the studio to make, and make, and make some more! It’s also feeling very much like fall here now, and I hope we’ll start to see the leaves burning orange soon.

Until next Sunday,

Lee Ryn

It rained all week :)

Week in Review

I am exhausted, and I did it to myself.

I’ve self imposed a deadline, that I would love to meet, but I am realizing is maybe not feasible if I don’t want to burn myself out.

I have been consistent with my practices, and with my goals to post on my social media this week. But today, worn out from a long weekend of getting a new fridge to replace our broken old one and keeping up with my pottery, I am wishing that I did not have to post so much on social media as an artist.

I know a lot of artists feel this way as well, but I also know that the only way to grow an audience for my work is to show up in these spaces. So I will push through, though I may scale down my ambitious posting schedule that I had originally made.

I don’t want to be negative. I do try very hard to find joy and be optimistic as much as I can, but I am human. And I still get tired.

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On a very good note, the first 8 pieces are officially titled by their numbers, photos have been taken! And I have added ‘update my website’ to my to-do list for this week.

I would love to share a sneak peek into my journals, that are my emotional support and sanity keepers, but I do have a lot of personal information written in them. I will share a picture of their covers though, because they are adorable and I love them!

And yes, I am working on making charms for journals and stationery lovers well! ;)

Thank you all for reading and being here! Here’s to making a good week ahead!

With love,
Lee Ryn

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Week in Review

My focus for the last several weeks has been consistency.

Consistency in showing up at my studio table to make the same thing, week after week. Consistency to get stronger, more focused, and dig to the roots of why I wanted to create art through clay. Over this past week the latter has become the most prominent question I have asked myself.

I’ve come to the gaping conclusion of “I’m not entirely sure, but it just feels right.” Completely unhelpful.

I attempted to answer this question for myself in an artist statement and artist bio, and I can’t help but feel like I’m close, but not quite there.

Allow me to ramble for a moment; I have always leaned toward fantasy. In any media I could consume, I was drawn into a fantasy world and would daydream my time happily away. If there was magic, fairies, or dragons it was even better! The older I’ve gotten, the more frowned upon it is to spend every idle moment in a daydream. But something about the real world feels…un-magical…
Which perhaps I could blame on my phone and the algorithmic hypnosis that I often find myself sucked into, but I’m not going to. (I already know this is an issue and am in the middle of a course correction.)
Instead, I have set myself out on a journey to understand what it is about fantasy that draws me in. And how I can replicate the idea of fantasy in my own art.

Enter ‘Solace’, my new collection — with pieces still in the works — that explore the intangible fantasy of nature through the use of black clay.

My pieces cannot do everything I ask of them, this I already know. There is no pixie dust to make us fly, or fire that can spark from my fingertips (without it being store bought.) To me, the true magic of our world is nature. The plants and flowers that bloom and grow year after year hold so much within them, if we only take the time to look.

The black clay is purposeful for this. It draws you in while absorbing and holding everything you give it. Its presence is demanding yet calm. A comforting void, filled with imagination and hope. Inspired by spring flowers and summer ponds.

8 pieces have survived the firing, 4 are sitting on the drying rack, and at least 8 more are planned with some room for experimentation.

This week felt like a lot of admin, but I have a plan now for keeping up with my consistency and making this collection come to life.

Enjoy the sneak peaks of the finished pieces, and I hope you’ll follow along for more! :)

See you next week,
Lee Ryn

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Studio Vlog 3

I am finally settled after our multi state move to MN! Goes to show no matter how much I think I can handle something, change is always difficult. But I am back in the studio, and I am making more than ever before.

I have been exploring where my Quiet Reflections series was taking me and I have found a new path into a different body of work. One that I know I will never stop learning from!

This vlog follows along the process of making Number 8 in this new, and as of now unnamed, collection. Please enjoy, and I’ll see you again soon! 💕

Love Letter to No.1

You broke.

I spent hours sculpting your existence, bringing you to life, and you broke.

It was through no fault of your own. You were stuck to the banding wheel on which I had carved you laboriously, and you had no choice but to break.

In your breaking you taught me more than I could have asked for. More than I thought would have been possible.

Especially since my prior patterns would have been to reclaim and use your clay for something else entirely.

But this time, you didn’t let me reshape you into something else. You stuck with me while the water seeped back in and your essence once again became malleable. And I tried you again.

And again.

And again!

And you taught me a lesson in the value of repetition. And you brought forth more shapes and sizes than I had anticipated myself creating.

And now, I can’t stop making them.

I don’t want to stop making them!

From you, 5 more have already come into existence. From you, many more will be made.

Thank you!

With Love,

I am making again

The sun is coming

Through the window

The clay is taking

Shape

And my hands

They are the makers of this small divine

Ft. Goose

Setbacks Happen

I’m still feeling new to having my hands in the clay again, and I stepped into my studio today with anticipation and excitement for the collection I’ve been working on.

On my workbench was a piece that took 4 hours to make, and had been drying for about a week - and needed another before it would be ready for the kiln.

I gave it a spin to check its progress and noticed a slight crack on the side. “Okay,” I said to myself, “it’s probably still leather hard, we can try to fix it.”

the piece slid across the banding wheel and I was surprised it had dried so much. I picked it up to check on the damage of the crack…

As with all pottery, we never know how it will turn out after we take our hands off.

However, I do know what to do better next time. And so we continue on!

Studio Vlog 2

The Miniseries has been completed! Our second vlog follows the process of making a vase with three flowers.

Not shown, is the making of a second vase that was a labor of love and I am over the moon with how it turned out! These vases will be present at a Maker’s Market in Manitou Springs on October 20th. I am thrilled with this series, and plan to keep these items stocked and/ or released in additional mini series.

This project has also opened up inspiration to a whole new type of work that I am excited to explore this winter. One of my 2024 Resolutions was to work on possible gallery level sculptures. I have a vision for a beautiful collection of display pieces that incorporate the floral elements that I worked with in this miniseries. A trip to Denver is in store for new materials ;)

I hope you’ll continue to follow along, and happy fall!

Love, Ryn

All three of the flower vases above

Glaze Vlog 1

Come with me as we glaze all our bisqueware for its final firing!

This may be a short little Vlog, but it was about a month in the making. I fire at a community studio and am at the mercy of the firing schedule. If there are not enough pieces to fill the kiln the firings can take several weeks to complete.

I have absolutely no problem with this as it helps keep me in a slow and relaxed mindset. I don’t feel rushed to complete my projects, and it gives me time in between pickups to make more things!

With my glaze tests back I am ready to start embarking on this new earthy collection. The glazes came out a little different from the tests so I am hoping the rest of the collection adjusts as well. However, I am absolutely in love with the colors and couldn’t be happier with how everything fired :)

I’ve also been working on a few vase ideas lately 👀 keep your eyes peeled for more!

Much love, Ryn

Glaze tests above

Studio Vlog 1

Follow along with me as we make a flower plate and a ring dish in this quiet little Vlog.

I have been loving the little flower additions to my pieces lately, and I am starting to plan a full collection around them. For these I want to move away from the bright colors of the MPDG collection and explore a more neutral, almost earthy, palette.

I haven’t yet gotten my test tiles back just yet, so I am uncertain how things might look. But I am hoping for warm ambers, pale tans, and creamy blues.

I’ll update you soon!

Edit:

The pieces we make in this video ended up in a Kiln Misfire that went all the way to cone 6 instead of cone 06 for bisque. While I wont be able to glaze these pieces now, I love seeing them as raw clay and will find a way to repurpose them around my apartment. Pottery teaches us so much about letting go and detachment, as things may not always survive the firing process.

Until next time!