Potters Market at the Mint
September 27, 2025
Angelique Tassistro Ceramics, Asheville NC
I use white earthenware clay, electric fired to cone 04. All pieces are hand-built using slabs and coils.
My finished surfaces are created by layering five underglazes on top of another in a pattern. Once the underglaze dries I wash it off under running water, buff then top with a clear glaze.
As a child, my mom used the word “imagination” but what I heard was “magic nation.” I desperately wanted to know where this “magic nation” was …and when I could visit. She said, “It’s the place you go, where all your dreams come true.” That’s where I live now, in my own ”magic nation” where I make art, work in my garden and play with my dog…a world where anything is possible.
I grew up in an eccentric southern family. 0ur family home in Natchez, Mississippi has been on tour since the 1930’s. Each tourist season, the locals dress in costumes to “receive” the tourists. My grandmother, with thirteen grandchildren total, made new costumes every year. I can still see her sewing frantically, ribbons flying, piles of fabric everywhere and at least six small girls twirling around in hoop skirts and ruffled pantalets waiting for their dresses to be complete.
Her attic was, and still is, full of vintage clothes, 1940’s hats, costumes, bolts of fabric, old paintings, broken furniture, and piles of books. We dressed up all summer long, for all the years of my child hood. Every time I visit, still today, I find myself in some over- the- top hat, with fabric bunched under my arm, flipping through a book on castles or palm reading. This attic in my grandmother’s house was the physical form of the “magic nation” of my childhood.
My work comes from these experiences. It is my way of playing and, like a child, my play is my work. It is how I express myself. It is the language I understand. I love the process, the repetition, and the feeling of magic every time I open the kiln door. I get great pleasure from knowing that others can enjoy my work. They can take it home with them and use it every day. By making pots, I get to share my “magic nation” in a way that words cannot explain.
Instagram @angelique_tassistro