Pioneer Square Find

At the September Pioneer Square artwalk, I stepped into the Laguna Pottery store which happens to be closing its doors soon. They specialize in collectible pottery, such as Fiestaware and other pottery from the 30's to 70's era. They also handle hand thrown work as well.

My wife and I were sorting through some bargain bins, getting some no-name plates and bowls for $1.00 a piece and when we checked out at the register, I looked up at a shelf that had to have what was a John Fassbinder bottle displayed. Distinctive style of throwing and glazing. John was my first ceramics teacher at Pomona College and I knew he had done his undergrad work at the University of Washington before moving to Claremont in the 1970's.

Anyway, I moved to the shelf and it was indeed a Fassbinder work. I asked if there were any more Fassbinder pieces and we found the footed bowl on the left. I had not seen any of John's Seattle work. The owner of the shop did know quite a bit about John, noting that these were glazed in browns and earth tones, not the blues and purples we see in his Claremont work. As a result, I purchased the two pieces (at half price!). I'm quite proud to have these in the family collection.