Hand-carved ceramics, made one piece at a time

I was the youngest person in the room by about thirty years.

In 2017 my husband convinced me to sign up for a ceramics course. I didn’t know when I signed up but it met at the Active Adult Center, across the hall from Silver Sneakers, and I was the youngest person there by roughly three decades. I learned a great deal from those folks — skills with clay, and about not rushing something that isn't ready.

I kept at it for seven years before I felt ready to sell anything. Ashley Santoo Studio opened in 2024.

How the work is made

Every piece starts on the wheel. Once it's thrown and firm enough to hold an edge, I carve it — every line cut by hand, one at a time. Then the glaze goes on drop by drop with a pipette, which is exactly as slow as it sounds.

A single piece takes weeks from wet clay to final firing. That's the part I love, and it's the reason no two are alike.

Why nature

Based in Denver, Colorado, a lot of my art is inspired by the Rocky Mountain landscapes. Alpine meadows, high desert, wildflowers. I make what I want to look at, and what I want is the natural world brought indoors — into a kitchen, onto a shelf, somewhere it gets seen every day rather than only on the weekends.

The other half of it is wanting to give something back. Protecting the places that inspire my work matters to me, and it's something I'm building into the business as it grows.

The unglamorous part

I have a full-time job and a family. The studio happens in the evenings and on weekends, which is why there's never very much of anything at once — and why every piece that does make it out has had a lot of hours in it. I am not a production ceramicist and thus my art is released in batches.

Thanks for being here.

— Ashley