Pod Tealight

Since we first spotted her hand carved porcelain pots, we’ve been smitten with Maria’s work. The Atwater Village ceramicist (by way of South Carolina—she hasn’t lost her twang) is as motivated by the organic forms of an insect wing, a water ripple or a sand dollar, as how light interacts and effects the details on these surfaces. She studied sculpture in Italy and at the Haystack Mountain School of Crafts in Maine, and her pots have received top placement from the American Ceramic Society and other craft guilds. She handles each piece pot, bottle, jar and pendant individually, which might be why we can’t keep our hands off of them. The shell of these unglazed scalloped pods are fashioned so they become translucent when lit from within by a tea candle. Warm and glowing, they bring to mind something from under the sea.