Stephen Day

Hand built stoneware bowls & tiles with leaf and tree themes.

Stephen Day fell in love with clay in 1990. What began as a casual relationship soon blossomed into a full time commitment. He quit his job, bought a ton of clay, and turned his 200 year old barn (in the hills of Pennsylvania) into a ceramic studio.

Self taught, Stephen has developed several unique processes that differentiate his work from other ceramic forms and surfaces. He spent a year in Japan, where he was introduced to the concept of Shibumi. The traditional Japanese craftsman has a sense of 'oneness' with both nature and materials. Stephen's materials are leaves, colors, and clay. After kiln firing, the fragile and fleeting leaves and malleable clay are transformed into an eternal, impervious work of art.

"Good design does not compete with its environment. It becomes a part of it." 

Each unique piece begins with a quiet walk in the woods, where Stephen selects the leaves that make every bowl or tile a one-of-a-kind work of art. Back in the studio he rolls out a thick slab of Pennsylvania stoneware clay. Colors are applied, then leaves are pressed into the clay. Fired to over 2000 degrees, the finished piece is a reflection of the woods and fields and streams that surround his studio in rural Berks County, PA. Post firing, the surface is protected with a quarry tile sealer. His work is microwave and dishwasher safe.