About
Ezh Clay is a small ceramics studio based in Oakland, California. The studio grew out of a local community pottery space, shaped by generous mentors, hands-on workshops, and countless late nights at the wheel. Atmospheric firing soon became its natural home—wood, soda, and gas kilns where fire becomes a collaborator in the final surface. Opening a kiln after a long firing, sleep-deprived and surrounded by friends, feels less like revealing a finished object than witnessing a conversation between clay, flame, ash, and time.
Ezh Clay grew out of a long love affair with Japan, food, music, and clay. Years of touring Japan as a taiko drummer sparked a deep admiration for Japanese aesthetics, everyday rituals, and the beauty of imperfection found in ordinary objects. That same sensibility now finds expression in clay—creating functional ceramics that invite slowing down, whether preparing tea, arranging flowers, or sharing a simple meal.
Training in Seto, Japan deepened this connection. Working with 12th-generation potter Kato Hiroshige in one of Japan’s historic pottery villages changed the way I approached clay, form, and firing. Shigaraki clay has since become a distinct thread in the studio. Sourced from another region of Japan, its coarse texture responds beautifully to wood and soda firing, connecting these pieces to a longer Japanese lineage.
Community wood firings in Oakland and across Japan followed. Through them came lessons in kiln building, experimentation with local materials, and exploration of new clay bodies. The firings—and the people around them—remain central to the work.
Forms at Ezh Clay are often influenced by nature, negative space, and the path of the flame. Surfaces emerge through layered slips, local materials, and introducing soda in different ways during the firing to invite variation and surprise. Every piece is made in small batches, and each pot is treated as a one-of-a-kind object—a record of process, place, and the unpredictable beauty of fire.
Ezh Clay works are sold through our Umami Pots Etsy shop.