About

TooTall’s Pottery – Ceramic Tattoo Art
Phone:  805-765-1113
Custom Hand Carved ceramic tattoo art.  We welcome special orders…
http://www.tootallspottery.com

Inspiration – a potters story…

I have been involved in ceramic art now for about 14 years, I am a self taught ceramic artist. I have read literally
hundreds of books on the art of ceramics.  I got sober 15 years ago form alcohol and my sponsor told me that I had
to get a different hobby (Current hobby was professional pool p[layer). I went down to Toys R Us on the
recommendation of my AA Sponsor and bought a little toy potters wheel.

Yes, I said a little toy potters wheel, a 6 foot 8 inch tall 300 Lb. Guy buying a kids potters wheel.  OK, I then played
with it and loved the feeling of clay between my hands and got the bug.  I asked my Mom and Dad for a potters
wheel for Christmas and they got me a really nice one a (Brent potters wheel) it cost like $1,500.  I was so excited I
just started reading and reading about the art of throwing on the potters wheel and taught myself over the years.

I was sitting in the kitchen talking with my Mom and I said it would great if I could live in Moro Bay and just do my
pottery by the beach. My parents had just bought me my first pottery wheel that Christmas.  I then borrowed some
money and moved  to Moro Bay in my VW van and lived outside my uncles house for a month or so.  This is how
TooTall’s Pottery got started.  I fell in love with the Central Coast of California.  It took me 12 years but I am finally
accomplishing this dream of mine.  I live in Goleta just outside of Santa Barbara.  I love my life and I think this will
show in my new art I will be producing.

I put a “lidded vessel” in a local coffee shop and someone bought it for their Dads urn.  I then started making
ceramic urns with exotic wood lids and bases.  I loved the shape and working with the different kinds of woods on
the lathe.  It is a vase shape with the wood working added to the process. I made urns for a few years and then
when I was living in Washington State about 4 years ago and I saw “Miami Ink” a TV program on A&E that showed
different  tattoo artists in their tattoo shop.  I thought wow, I would love to do that on my pottery, then I started
making tribal plates and other urns using the same process a tattoo artist would use to make a kind of ceramic
tattoo art.  I now am incorporating this tattoo process into my “art urns”, vases, etc…  I like to take a design or
theme someone has in there mind and make a special tribal design for them.

The “rock” is kind of my trademark.  I was visiting “Montana De Oro” a beautiful beach in Los Osos Ca. (picture
above) they had the most unique rocks I had ever seen.  I took one home and carved one out of clay. I take a piece
of clay, let it dry a bit and then carve it into a rock.  I like to paint glazes and different designs on them to give them
away to people I come in contact with.