Erosion / Return — Solo Show
18 monumental vessels, one sound bath room. 1200 visitors in 3 weeks.
● Topanga Canyon, California — Wild Clay Studio
Earth
Earth
that breathes
form that holds silence.
I’m Sienna Zolman — ceramic sculptor & visual artist. I hand-build monumental vessels, fractured totems and quiet installations from foraged clay, volcanic ash and ocean sand. No wheel. No rush. Only hands, fire and time.
SCROLL • TOUCH CLAY • SCROLL • TOUCH CLAY •
HAND-BUILT VESSELS ✦ WABI-SABI SCULPTURE ✦ VOLCANIC GLAZES ✦ FORAGED CLAY ✦ MEDITATIVE INSTALLATIONS ✦ HAND-BUILT VESSELS ✦ WABI-SABI SCULPTURE ✦ VOLCANIC GLAZES ✦ FORAGED CLAY ✦
01 — About
I don’t make pots. I make places to rest.
Born in Ojai, trained in Kyoto and Copenhagen, Sienna Zolman has spent a decade unlearning perfection. Her studio in Topanga Canyon is part kiln-room, part desert garden, part silent retreat — where 200+ vessels dry slowly under muslin for weeks before they meet fire.
2014 — BeginningFirst coil pot in a backyard pit-fire. Cracked. Loved it. Never threw it away.
2017 — Kyoto apprenticeshipStudied with master Hanae Mori: wabi-sabi, kintsugi philosophy, tea ceremony vessels.
2020 — Topanga StudioBuilt wood-fired kiln from reclaimed bricks. Started foraging clay in Malibu Creek.
2025 — Erosion SeriesMonumental fractured totems shown in Los Angeles, Marfa and Lisbon. Sold out.
Coil BuildingPit FiringAsh GlazesKintsugiInstallationLand Art
Philosophy: beauty in breakage
“Clay remembers every touch. I try to touch with honesty. If a wall collapses, I keep the collapse. If a glaze runs wild, I let it run. Control is boring. Surrender is sculptural.”
- ✦ All clays wild-foraged & processed by hand
- ✦ Zero plastic — only linen, wood, stone tools
- ✦ Fired with fallen oak & almond shells
- ✦ Every piece signed, dated, mapped to source
02 — Selected Work 2023–2026
Vessels, totems & silent giants
Six bodies of work. Each fired once, never repeated. Collectors receive origin map, firing log and care ritual.
Erosion Series • 2025
Mother Vessel No.14
Malibu creek clay, white ash, 96cm. Cracked and mended with gold.
Totems • 2024
Sentinel II
Stacked coils, iron wash, 182cm. For outdoor meditation gardens.
Tea • 2023
Winter Bowls, Set of 5
Black clay, rice ash, thumb-pressed. Each holds exactly one breath.
Process • Ongoing
Hand Memory Archive
400 palm-pressed tiles documenting every studio day since 2020.
Installation • 2026
Field of Listening
47 vessels in a circle, wind-activated. Shown in Joshua Tree.
Desert • 2024
Dune Keeper
Sand-mixed stoneware, sun-baked 40 days before firing.
03 — Process
Slow is the technique
Step 01 — Forage
Walk, listen, dig
I hike creek beds after rain. I taste, smell, sieve. Only 1 in 10 clays is workable. I map each source and leave tobacco as thanks.
Step 02 — Rest
Coil & cover
Walls grow 3cm per day, then sleep under damp linen. A large vessel takes 3–6 weeks. Rushing causes memory cracks.
Step 03 — Fire
Wood, wind & prayer
48-hour wood firing to 1280°C. I stay awake, stoking every 12 minutes, listening to the kiln breathe like an animal.
1280°C
Peak temp
Peak temp
48h
Non-stop firing
Non-stop firing
Want to learn? Monthly 3-day intensive: forage, build, pit-fire. Small groups of 6. No experience needed, only patience.
Join workshop04 — Exhibitions & Press
Where the clay has traveled
Desert Dialogue — Group
Field of Listening installed in high desert. Wind played the pots.
Terra Madre — Biennale
Portuguese sea clay meets California creek clay. Cultural exchange.
“Zolman doesn’t decorate space. She stills it. Her pots feel excavated from a calmer future.”
— Studio Review, 2025
Can I commission a custom vessel?
Yes. I take 4 commissions per year. We meet, walk, talk about your space and silence. Lead time 3–5 months. Start via contact form.
Do you ship internationally?
Yes, in custom wooden crates with straw. Every piece is insured and includes repair-for-life promise.
Are workshops beginner-friendly?
Absolutely. 70% of students never touched clay. You will leave with 2 pit-fired pieces and muddy hands.
05 — Studio Journal / News
Notes from the kiln room
Firing logs, clay hunts, failures, joys. Updated when the kiln cools — roughly monthly.
Journal is warming in the kiln — first firing notes coming soon. Meanwhile explore selected work.
06 — Contact
Let’s make
something that
outlives us.
Commissions, exhibitions, workshops or just to say hello. I read every letter on Sunday mornings with tea.
✦ Studio: 412 Saddleback Rd, Topanga Canyon, CA
✦ Open studio: first Saturday monthly, 10am–4pm
✦ Response time: within 3 days
