Sandra Penny Pots

I make wheel-thrown stoneware pieces at my home in Albany, NY.  Most of my work is functional - mugs, bowls, plates, vases, flower pots, pitchers, and platters. I also make fun wheel thrown and augmented items like pumpkins, Christmas trees, piggy banks, and nature-themed carvings. 

I love that pottery is never boring, and it shows in my work! I am constantly experimenting with new techniques, my interests and focus are regularly evolving, I change around my color palette frequently, 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 my work at Hangin' Handmade on River St. in Troy (website and instagram) or you can find my mushroom-themed work at Collar City Mushrooms in Troy.  I also attend about ten craft fairs a year throughout the Capital District. Hope to see you soon! 

A bit about me: I teach physics, environmental, and earth sciences 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!