Angela Ryan's Shrunken Pottery Collection

Angela Ryan, a local ceramic artist, presents a series of tiny cups, bowls, and pots at the CCAC Minigallery. Her collection explores the delicate relationship between shape and size, offering a meditation on the elements through eclectic glazed surfaces and organic forms.

Each piece breathes with earthy tones—mingling the textures of wheel-thrown clay and the glassy sheen of glaze. They evoke rivers, ice, mud, and fruit in miniature, as though nature has been distilled into these tiny vessels. According to the gallery, this series serves as a brainstorm for future larger-scale works. Yet, these miniatures stand alone as humble studies of nature.

The tallest piece, a speckled vessel with three undulations, is adorned with a vertical-striped glaze in light blue, white, and navy. Like water falling from a rock cradle, its flanked by two modest, partially glazed companions.

Another standout is a small bowl I’ve dubbed the “Rain Cup.” Its darkly glazed exterior, dotted like raindrops on pavement, gives way to an interior where a deluge of pond-green glaze cascades downward. The energy within feels alive, like rainfall pooling in a hidden basin.

Nearby, a duo of berry-colored vessels invite us to have flower-petal jam with fairies at a garden party. Their rich, natural tones harmonize, creating a visual pairing that feels both warm and grounded.

The collection concludes with a white and glacier-blue lidded pot. Its sides are slashed with dagger-like streaks of glaze, mimicking icicles suspended along a rooftop edge. Unlike the other pieces, it is free of speckles.

Angela Ryan’s collection is a reminder to pause and honor the elements that shape our world. In these small, deliberate forms, we see the earth in the microcosm—snapshots of a larger, untamed whole.