Pretty Pieces of Joy
Discover R.Wood Studio’s colorful ceramics, for simple dishware inspired by nature.
Looking to add beautiful, simple and highly useful dishes or other pottery to your table or home?
R.Wood Studio just might fill the bill. The ceramic pieces, all designed by Rebecca Wood, are inspired by the shapes and colors of nature. Elegant yet comfortable, the dishes are perfect for a cozy or sophisticated cottage look.
AESTHETIC EVOLUTION
Rebecca started R.Wood Studio after 10 years of making still life paintings for a living. “After a stock market crash in 1987 made all the red SOLD dots disappear off my paintings … I decided to create things at lower price points that more people could afford,” she says. She experimented with many different art forms: painting with dyes on velveteen, then making hats, scarves and clothing. She made jewelry and painted furniture. Then she took a china-painting class, and just loved the idea of making beautiful, one-of-a-kind plates to be used and enjoyed every day.
But china painting turned out to be too fragile of a medium for Rebecca, so she sought other ways to create dishes. She ordered some clay and glazes, and a friend bought her a used kiln at a yard sale for $200. She got out a rolling pin and started rolling out flat discs that became plates. Rebecca discovered that “the commercial glazes were so much brighter and richer that I fell in love!” And now she finds “creating with clay always feels like play.”
JOYFUL ARTISTIC STYLE
Rebecca is an intuitive artist. She says, “I don’t so much make up ideas as I let them come to me. I can feel an inspiration coming on, like a flower coming into bloom.” She describes her style as joyful, “as in the joy that one feels in the presence of beauty, or thinking of something beautiful.”
Being a creative person, she was “driven to observe and recreate the beautiful forms and colors of nature,” whether through fashion, crafting, painting or other means. As she explains it, “The patterns and colors of nature are embedded in my brain, and nature remains my constant inspiration.”
In pottery, Rebecca’s shapes are “inspired by history and by a desire for simplicity and usefulness.” She gets inspiration by looking at world pottery of the past, especially Japanese and Korean pottery. Rebecca adds, “I am also fortunate to know many excellent potters in the Southeast and beyond that are so inspiring!”
CREATIVE COMBINATIONS
To Rebecca, “Cottage style means cozy and close to the earth and flowers, and an appreciation of beauty and workmanship.” And cottage style goes perfectly with her work. She also likes a vintage vibe. “I’ve always been (and still am 100%) a thrifter! I love to cruise antiques malls for inspirations on shapes, color combos and new ideas for things to make,” she explains.
And her customers are likewise inspired, delighted and crazy about her simple, beautiful and always useful creations. How do Rebecca’s customers use her pottery? A few keep their R.Wood pottery in the china cabinet, and many display it on the wall (where the pieces look fabulous!). “But,” Rebecca says, “it is really made to be used and enjoyed every day… it makes me happy to think of the joy each piece will bring.”
FOR MORE ABOUT REBECCA AND R.WOOD STUDIO, VISIT RWOODSTUDIO.COM
OR @RWOODSTUDIOCERAMICS ON INSTAGRAM.