Bailey Pottery

Bringing movement to the traditional forms of pottery has always been on James Lawton’s mind. Early work has floating furniture, falling pots, and clothing flying by as if inhabited by the Invisible Man. In many pieces, there are several constructed forms coming together to make a flowing, cohesive statement, while always maintaining the utilitarian functionality of his vessels, teapots, vases, and flasks.

Fifteen years after graduating from High School, Tom Guell returned to the pottery wheel that he had loved so much during a senior year Independent Study in Pottery. He tells us about his journey juggling a full-time job as a union ironworker, a young family, and aspiring potter in rural Wisconsin.