This Super Bowl Sunday, I’d like to introduce you all to the magical curse bowls used in Upper Mesopotamia and Syria in late antiquity. Written in Mandaic (as here) or Syriac Aramaic, they trap demons who trespass on a household by sucking them in with spiraling spells to the center of the bowl.

Mars Rover Jewelry coming this Wednesday Dec 10th, 12pm PT ✨ A collaboration with my good friend @sciencesocks.bsky.social who turned the pendants into jewelry! To join our mailing list for this project: sciencesocks.co/pages/amy-ra...

#Fishmas day 7: Sternoptychidae berry bowl. It works way better than I would have thought. #Ceramics, #pottery, #SciArt

My last pottery restock of the year is live. This porcelain skeleton embedded in a mossy rock outcrop was such a fun mug to sculpt. #ceramics #pottery #womensart #skeleton #ceramicmug #porcelain #art #handmademug #coffeemug #ceramicart #ceramicsofbluesky #pottersofbluesky #potteryofbluesky

Here's a porcelain Anthropocene mug embedded with stones that I recently made for a long time customer. One of these days I'm going to keep one for myself. #ceramicart #porcelain #pottery #pottersofbluesky #womensart #skull #skeleton #geology #mug #handmade #clay #ceramics

My landscapes always look like they're at risk of collapsing. Want a little precariousness with your favorite beverage? There's a band of igneous stones embedded and fired into the porcelain. #ceramicart #ceramics #pottery #pottersofbluesky #ceramicsofbluesky #porcelain #geological #cacti #desert

Meet my Sky Islands clear glaze! The recipe consists of 90% locally scavenged calcium carb, quartz, and feldspar (1st photo). 2nd photo shows earlier attempts at making a clear desert mineral/rock glaze. #geology #rocks #minerals #ceramics #ceramicglaze #glazenerd #pottersofbluesky #artprocess

Stunning: A pair of emerging stars in Lynds 483 have sculpted this radiant, hourglass-shaped cloud of gas and dust. In a few million years, each star could grow to match the Sun’s mass, leaving behind only a thin disk where planets might eventually take shape (Credit: NASA, ESA, CSA, STScI)

Over here sculpting rocks with rocks in the rocks. #rocks #minerals #geology #ceramics #ceramic #workinprogress #potteryofbluesky #pottersofbluesky #ceramicstudio #desert #handmadecup #cactus #landscape

You look a little down, have a bowl of cosmos #sciart

For the fifth day of #Invertefest a minoan mashup cup, kamares ware outside, marine (and invertebrate) style inside. #pottery, #ceramics

Today I want to share with you all one of my favorite #MacroPhotos I have ever taken. On July 18th, 2014 I had a magical encounter with this #dragonfly, the Great Blue Skimmer, #Libellula vibrans and I was able to capture this focus stack. #invertefest #insects #Photography #MacroPhotography

An older design to share for #InverteFest. Very few people enjoy seeing a #cockroach on a mug they're drinking from, which is why I just had to make these. Only a customer with a particular sense of humor brings this into their home. #potteryofbluesky #ceramicmug #ceramics #wheelthrown #bugs #roach

Another post for #InverteFest The Palo Verde Beetle, one of my favorite local invertebrates. They emerge during the monsoon season in the Sonoran Desert and freak people out due to their size and clumsy flying style. They're harmless and I love them. #beetle #ceramics #pottersofbluesky #pottery

Sharing for #InverteFest (Reposted bc I got the hashtag wrong the first time!) I used to make tarantula mugs, this one was testing a neodymium glaze on the tarantula. Usually I glazed them in browns/blacks to resemble my local tarantulas. #tarantula #arachnid #pottersofbluesky #ceramics #pottery

A hike on Mars!

Pufferfish skeleton. 🐡 These bones expand when the fish puffs up, creating a near-impossible-to-swallow defense against predators. Fun Fact: pufferfish carry deadly toxins, even more dangerous than cyanide! ☠️ #nature #fish #skeleton

Paper Horse, 16x12 #acrylicpainting

For those of you who wanted to see how the 1/2 high fire stoneware + 1/2 low fire local clay blend test emerged from a mid range firing, see the first photo. Photos 2, 3 and 4 are the same local clay w nothing added, fired to different temps. More info in alt text. #clay #wildclay #pottery #ceramics

I mixed a blend of 1/2 cone ten (2345°F) stoneware clay and 1/2 cone 01 (2046°F) local desert clay to find out what its firing temperature will be. I'm guessing it'll be mid range, but who knows! #clay #wildclay #localclay #pottery #ceramics #pottersofbluesky #ceramicstudio

I like locating rocks that I'm interested in identifying on a USGS map and then hiking to them. Yesterday I wanted to find fossils in Paleozoic limestone. Found the limestone. Not sure if what I found are fossils. It was a fun desert hike regardless. #desert #geology #usgs #rocks #landscape #fossils

Mixing stoneware clay and dehydrating it on a plaster slab before wedging. This is the part of the creative cycle where I prep my materials for the next batch of pots. Online shop closes tonight, then reopens after this next batch is completed. #clay #stoneware #pottersofbluesky #pottery #ceramics

Anthropocene fossil mug. www.samirahsteinmeyer.com #pottery #potteryofbluesky #pottersofbluesky #ceramicart #ceramics #ceramic #ceramicmug #anthropocene #coffeemug #natureinspired #geological #desert #desertlandscape #cacti

Feeling inspired by this rock I found yesterday, made by my absolute favorite artist, Nature herself. What a show off✨️ #ceramicmaterials #geology #geological #rocks #granite #muscovite #inspiration

Ever want to wander into the desert, lay on a boulder and watch clouds float by? I want to just hear birds, wind and no words for a bit. Desert inspired tumblers, cups and altars available in my ceramics shop: www.samirahsteinmeyer.com #pottery #ceramics #desert #cacti #ceramiccup #landscape #art

When your country is imploding due to completely avoidable, manufactured chaos, greed etc how does one respond? By continuing to make fancy pots, of course🫠 Restock Sunday at 2pm, PST. #pottersofbluesky #potteryofbluesky #ceramicart #ceramics #pottery #clayart #functionalart #desert #geology #art

I just finished a pair of little skeletal fish plates using the sgraffito method of carving into the underglaze. I love how they came out! #ceramics #fishart #sgraffito

A sparkly little baby. daniellepedersen.com

Using a digital microscope to explore the landscapes within the glaze drips on one fresh new cup. I spent hours filled with awe and curiosity while wandering around entire places invisible to the naked eye. #glazenerd #ceramicglaze #glazechemistry #potteryofbluesky #sciart #microscopic #ceramics

Even my skull looks exhausted. #pottersofbluesky #pottery #potteryofbluesky #porcelain #ceramics #ceramic #ceramicart #skull #rocks #artshare #art #cacti

The Caliche Aventurine glaze flowed off a few cups while in the kiln. I know I should sand those drips off, but what if I give whomever buys it the option to sand or not to sand? I love how the cup is a bit imbalanced but won't tip over. #glazenerd #ceramics #pottery #potteryofbluesky #ceramicglaze

not sure if i want to add any pattern to this, i kind of love the flat red on its own 🤔 what do you think? #pottery #teapot #skull #ceramics #underglaze

Processing an experience of the beauty I see in my local mountains through my ceramic work. I'm drawn to granite slabs with ribbons of moss or veins of quartz within fractures. #pottersofbluesky #pottery #potteryofbluesky #ceramics #ceramicart #geology #landscape #rocks #art #pluton #ceramiccup

Custom Astronaut Vessel: A Crack in the Ice

Porcelain clay vase in progress. Sculpting and slicing and poking till it looks right. #pottersofbluesky #potteryofbluesky #art #sculpture #functionalart #ceramicart #ceramics #geology #nature #landscape #rocks #porcelain #handmadepottery #artinprogress #artoftheday

I’m having a shop update this Saturday, and there are a few mugs in this batch that are going to be particularly hard to part with. 😍 • • • • #pottery #ceramics #potterymug #ceramicmug #potteryofbluesky #pottersofbluesky #handmadepottery #canadianpottery #madeincanada #handmademug

I got a bit carried away with this mug. She feels so fancy, like La Catrina, but totally down to hang out under a pile of cacti and rocks right now...maybe watch the sunset... #pottersofbluesky #ceramics #ceramic #ceramicart #art #pottery #workinprogress #selfportrait #ceramicmug #handmademug #clay

Made so you can daydream about hiking through desert canyons while drinking your coffee. I certainly daydream about them while sculpting each mug. #pottersofbluesky #ceramics #ceramic #ceramicart #ceramicmug #handmademug #pottery #mug #desertlandscape #desert

The developer of Flashes for Bluesky just needs a few more donations to finally bring it to Android users (like yours truly). Donate if you're able!

On my live stream this weekend someone asked what I thought the #democraticparty should do. Here’s my suggested path forward: solve people’s problems. Show notes and links and Substack signup available here open.substack.com/pub/baratund...

Some cactus+boulder pics from today's wander through the desert. #desert #landscape #cacti #rocks #sonorandesert #saguaro

Fascinating: A snowflake magnified 50,000 times. With a bit of fantasy it almost looks like some sort of extra-terrestrial virus... (Credit: Erbe, Pooley: USDA, ARS, EMU)

Tornasol Studio's ongoing lantern series draws from Mexico's indigenous plants, featuring textures inspired by cacti, agaves, and corn. 🌵 💡 🌽 www.thisiscolossal.com/2025/03/in-k...

A miniature ceramic landscape to momentarily interrupt the barrage of chaotic news. Where do you turn for balance? I find balance spending time in nature, making things with clay, solitude, time spent with loved ones... #pottersofbluesky #ceramicart #ceramics #landscape #desert #art #miniature #clay

In Arizona, on National Forest Land. Every act of resistance counts. #protectpubliclands #protectourparks #resist

A perpetual caliche aventurine glaze, inspired by perpetual stews that can continue cooking for decades with fresh ingredients added. Glaze batch 2 was added to batch 1, using a different caliche for a slight variation in appearance. #pottersofbluesky #ceramics #ceramicglaze #glazenerd #pottery

More new pendants listed, including this little bluejay friend. I’m also sculpting today so give me your requests!

A wall mounted or tabletop desert canyon altar, with a mini vase for dry flowers. I'm sharing this prematurely because it's making me happy. It won't be for sale until later this month. #pottersofbluesky #ceramics #ceramic #handbuiltceramics #art #ceramicart #landscape #desert