Victoria Morris

Victoria Morris is a Los-Angeles native that has been honing her craft for over twenty years. The refined housewares that she makes feel more like sculpture than pottery; perhaps that is because she is inspired by mid-century Scandinavian forms and traditional Japanese craftsmanship.

Morris creates work that is perfectly proportioned and functionally useful. The ceramicist is drawn to creating clean forms; however, she is fascinated by the imperfections that appear randomly since they revel the maker’s hand that is omnipresent in thrown ceramics.

Morris took pottery as an elective course in high school, and she was instantly drawn to the art. However, she pursued a twenty year career as a production designer and worked as a freelance set designer in fashion and advertising. In her free time, Morris made ceramics and sold her work to several local stores and designers. Quickly, the demand for her work far outpaced the time she had “on the side.”

Five years ago, Morris realized that she wanted to try and give pottery her full attention. With pottery now her full-time job, Morris has had to find a way to manage the “business” and the “creative” sides of her work. She’s further realized that she can’t do everything by herself if she wants to maintain a creative mindset. The challenge has lead to new and interesting works!

Morris says that she’s inspired by those ceramicists that came before her, and by craftspeople from other avenues such as basketry and wood-working. Mid-century artists such as Lucie Rie and Shoji Hamada offer inspiration for Morris… as well as the global works of pre-modern traditional cultures. As “old” as they are, they can actually seem quite modern.

The artist also cites nature and travel as inspiration. New places are always exciting and energizing; finding stones or feathers or leaves, though subtle, is quite beautiful. Luckily, Morris’ studio at the foot of the San Gabriel Mountains offers her plenty of opportunities to be outside and to garner inspiration.

Morris says that going forward, she hopes to make fewer production pieces and to focus more on creating limited editions and smaller collections. The desire to experiment with different glazes and techniques is also part of Morris’ future plans.

With the success that she’s had thus far, Morris realizes that it is now time to focus on the playful and creative side of her work. Hopefully, this comes hand-in-hand with more shows and exposure worldwide… Morris deserves all the success that’s heading her way!