Meet Anne Rasmussen of West End Pottery in West Phoenix

Today we’d like to introduce you to Anne Rasmussen.

Anne, let’s start with your story. We’d love to hear how you got started and how the journey has been so far.
I started in pottery in the 90’s. I was always a bit of a putterer, played a bit with jewelry, fabric arts, photography, then a friend of mine said, “let’s take a class together” and of course the next question was,”which one?” We came to the idea of a pottery class at a community college. After the first semester, my friend wanted to move on and I never left pottery. My husband then took up pottery a couple of years later.

As I began to enjoy pottery, I became crazy curious about the discipline. I couldn’t go to a standard art school so I tried to read and see everything I could about ceramics: its history, artists, glazes, techniques, forms and from that grew a greater appreciation for other art forms and art history in general.

Overall, has it been relatively smooth? If not, what were some of the struggles along the way?
I don’t think there is such a thing as a smooth road trying to “make it” as an artisan. But that’s part of the journey we choose. There are good days and there are frustrating days. Potters/ceramists make jokes about “clay gods”, “glaze gods”, and “kiln gods”, they’re the ones you blame when something goes wrong somewhere in the process. You learn not to depend on a piece until it comes out of the second firing and even then it can chip or crack or craze.

Another thing is, when you’re trying to sell and you spend long days in a tent with no one stopping, you begin to question yourself and your work. It can be hard to maintain your confidence, but you have to find it to stay in the game.

But at the end of the day, I enjoy creating, making things. It’s a great joy to know that something you made is going to someone’s home and it will be used. That’s why I like making functional ware.

Please tell us about West End Pottery.
I started the business on a very small scale in 2001 with head full of heart and passion and great expectations. If I had to do it over again, I would have waited bit longer to take the plunge. I wasn’t as prepared as I thought I was.

But over time, we both grew as artists and business people. I do think that there are some times when you don’t learn things until you’re in the thick of it.

We specialize in functional pieces, largely and I love doing that. One of the ways I’ve expanded is to paint in Asian landscape style (shan-shui) on thrown porcelain pieces. That’s very rewarding for me. It allows me to use a different part of my brain. Basic throwing is often a technical skill, but what you do after that is the art. Often, that’s where potters really show themselves, in glazing and decoration, and using the form you’ve thrown to its best advantage.

We’re proud to make useful things we hope people find beautiful.

If you had to go back in time and start over, would you have done anything differently?
At the time, it was more difficult to get information about starting this type of business and sometimes I felt odd asking certain questions because I was afraid I’d look ignorant. I’d ask a lot more questions. And I should’ve hung on to my day job a little longer!

Engage businesses you already use. Ask them if there is something you make they can use. We’ve made beer mugs for our favorite breweries, maybe refrigerator magnets, think outside your box, talk to others outside your sphere and see what ideas they might have.

Contact Info:

• Website: westendpottery.com
• Phone: 623-680-0524
• Email: mudchick@gmail.com
• Instagram: westendpotteryaz
• Facebook: West End Pottery

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