Yo, I’m Kass. The hands behind Black Sheep Ceramics. I’m a mom of four rough + rowdy boys, a wife, and a small batch ceramic artist. I create out of my garage-turned-studio in a small town in the Pacific NorthWest, United States, on an Island in the San Juans (holy shit, that was a mouthful).

For the past decade, I have been a stay at home mom. Pottery has always been on my mind, but rearing small children made it hard for me to start 7 years ago, when I first fell in love with this craft – and if I’m being totally honest, imposter syndrome and a fear of failure should take a lil’ bit of the blame, too. I received my wheel as a birthday gift back in 2017 and, even through a couple of moves, I lugged that thing around with me….unused. It wasn’t until 2019 that I finally set it up and got my ass in gear to begin learning, setting aside all of the fear and doubt I developed in my anxiety-ridden brain. Most of the things I’ve learned, I learned through Youtube, but I did take four classes in 2020 with Will from William’s Pottery in Seattle because I just could not figure out how to do some of the stuff that Youtube videos made look so easy. With his help, I was finally creating forms I could keep and not feel frustrated about.

Pottery has become my meditation. When you become a mom, especially at a young age, it’s easy to lose parts of yourself (or at least to feel like you are). Finding pottery helped me find some of those parts of me I forgot were there. It helped remind me that I have other hats besides ‘mom’. I wasn’t planning on turning this into a fully-fledged business until I felt *perfect*, but I’ve come to understand that perfection isn’t an attainable goal and that I can do things imperfectly, on shaky feet, figuring out each step as I go. And to be honest, I have had such an overwhelming amount of support from family and friends who want to buy my art that I felt pulled towards beginning this small business.

All of that to say, I do not quite see myself as a professional of anything really. I’m just makin’ shit up as I go and hoping I stick the landing. I am everchanging, expanding, and growing, as a person and artist. I am ready to dive into the deep end without my floaties on because why the hell not, right? Life is too short to not take chances and chase your dreams. So, thank you for stoppin’ in to catch a glimpse of me chasing mine.  & I hope you find something special here to take with you when you go.