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Alumnus Eva Stoneburner shapes co-op community by molding pottery

Eva Stoneburner smiles surrounded by ceramics. The alumnus started her business, Spiral Sundries Ceramics, to follow her lifelong artistic passion. (Courtesy of Eva Stoneburner)

By Christine Kao

Sept. 25, 2022 8:38 p.m.

Eva Stoneburner is kindling a sense of community through pottery.

During her final year at UCLA, the alumnus established the brand Spiral Sundries to sell her ceramics. Stoneburner’s childhood interest in sculpting clay was reignited when she enrolled in her high school’s pottery program, she said. After graduating from UCLA, Stoneburner said she began teaching pottery classes at the Tucson Clay Co-Op, where she visited every day before becoming an instructor.

“I’d fall asleep, and I’d dream about doing pottery, or I couldn’t fall asleep unless I wrote down ideas,” Stoneburner said. “Then it got … more intense the more that I did it.”

Stoneburner said she enjoys the therapeutic effect of making pottery and seeks to stay artistic while following her academic pursuits. After moving to Arizona in 2020 during the COVID-19 pandemic, Stoneburner said she quickly found a community through pottery at the co-op. Nowadays, Stoneburner leads classes, assists visitors and operates kilns at the cooperative. In return, the co-op provides her with studio space and the tools required for making ceramics, she said.

“We (the co-op) are a standing community figure, which is very exciting because I love being a part of the community,” Stoneburner said. “It also ties in my love of anthropology – working with people, being around people, the whole culture.”

[Related: UCLA alumnus sheds light on spiritual energy in object in ‘Mondegreen Nursery’ exhibit]

Witnessing ancient collections at museums during her recent summer trip to Italy inspired her, as she said she recognized how she continues to practice the artisanal techniques that have been utilized for centuries. In addition, Stoneburner said she finds parallels between antiques and her own creations, such as the doughnut-shaped potteries made by the ancient Etruscans and the glazed-doughnut pipes she has been working on lately.

Allyson Blanck, an alumnus and Stoneburner’s partner, said Stoneburner presents an eclectic body of work, including objects made of marbled clay. Stoneburner said she enjoys turning marbled clay into different household items such as cups and vases, as she can create not only durable but also utilitarian pieces through pottery. Stoneburner said she appreciates the integration of decorative arts with functionality.

Apart from functional pottery, Stoneburner also designs imaginative creatures. One of her favorite pieces, a creature named Snappy, has the body of a dragon and the head of a snapdragon flower, posing with its fingers snapping. Stoneburner said she likes to explore distinct figures and positions with her usually hollow and thin-walled creature pieces. Often, she shapes each unconventional detail of the body first and then attaches a unique face to the piece at the end, she said.

[Related: UCLA student crafts jewelry business Venitulz to sell handmade pieces]

Throughout a potter’s creative processes, they constantly make conscious decisions from determining whether or not to fire a pot to choosing what types of glazes to coat a piece with, Stoneburner said. She said she hopes her works reflect the mindful intention rooted in each stage of the production. This detail-oriented nature can be observed through her works, said her younger sister and third-year bioengineering student Julia Stoneburner.

“She’s very perfectionist, and so you see that in the quality of her pottery,” Julia Stoneburner said. “All of her vessels have really thin walls, incredibly thin walls, which is really hard to do and takes a lot of skill.”

Julia Stoneburner added that her sister not only makes playful ceramics herself but also employs fun teaching methods. She said her sister puts in considerable effort to understand her students’ goals in taking her class. While striving to further explore the craft and take pride in all of her pottery works, Eva Stoneburner said she aspires to be a better teacher and is considering continuing her studies through an MFA program.

“I am a fixture in my community, and that’s really exciting, especially as someone who’s young and who isn’t from Tucson,” Eva Stoneburner said. “But I am here now and putting in the energy. I want people to succeed. I want to teach people. And I get to see my students grow, and that’s wonderful.”

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Christine Kao | Photographer
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