Sandra Penny Pots

I make wheel-thrown stoneware pieces at my home in Albany, NY.  Most of my pieces are functional - mugs, bowls, plates, vases, flower pots, pitchers, and platters. From time to time, I make fun seasonal pieces like pumpkins, Christmas trees, and piggy banks. 

The thing I love most about pottery is that it's never boring! I am constantly able to experiment with new techniques, my interests and focus are regularly evolving, and I am always pushing my limits to improve. For these reasons, you never quite know what is going to come out of the studio!  

I am also an amateur mycologist (mushroom forager) and some of my more unique pieces include hand carvings of edible and locally forage-able mushrooms. Carvings are added at the greenware stage. After bisque firing, I add and then wipe back glaze so that color only sticks in the crevices. This creates the effect of a pencil drawing when the piece is complete. You can find some of these pieces for sale at Collar City Mushrooms in Troy. 

A bit about me: I teach physics and environmental science at Russell Sage College and I parent two elementary-aged kids. I have a Ph. D in atmospheric sciences, and I lived in seven different states across the United States before I moved to Albany in 2012. My pottery journey started with a wheel class at the Albany Art Room in 2019, and it became a passion during the pandemic. Some of my other passions include teaching, mycology, vegetable gardening, environmentalism, and road cycling.  I'm happy to have found a long-term home in the Capital Region of New York!