Jay & Karrie Stemmler

You could say our studio work is a reflection of our life experiences. Trained as microbiologists, taught English for 3 years with a 1 year pottery apprenticeship in Japan, owned a natural food store and organic flour milling operation and spent a month in New Zealand under the tutelage of Elena Renker, an accomplished ceramic artist specializing in Kurinuki, the Japanese technique of carving out tea bowls and vases from blocks of clay. Recently we spent the month of October 2024 as artists in residence in Skagastrond, Iceland focusing on the Kurinuki technique to create pieces that mirrored the Icelandic landscape.

In our studio in Indianola we produce wheel-thrown and hand-built functional ceramic ware for your kitchen and home. We definitely tend toward a Japanese aesthetic. We specialize in the things you’ll use everyday, such as coffee cups, tea cups, dinnerware, serving bowls and platters, and bakeware of various shapes and sizes. We also enjoy doing some sculpture pieces, wall decorations and garden art.

We’ll look forward to seeing you in our studio. Jay and Karrie