Steven Summerville fell in love with the transforming magic of clay as a small child in Kalamazoo, Michigan, and that passion has sustained him for a lifetime. His studies at Berea College in Kentucky trained him to make strong, simple forms that are completely useful, fun to look at, and make everyday living more interesting and satisfying. He believes that good pottery can serve all these functions simultaneously. His Berea mentors helped him to develop technical proficiency, his own personal style, and a reverence for the well-made useful pot.

During his apprenticeship, he dId research into 17th century English slip ware. As he worked with slip trailing, he discovered his own voice emerging in combining functional shapes with animated handles, knobs, and eventually legs. The surface decoration went from bands of pale color with simple dots to entire surfaces encrusted with bright colors and bits of pattern drawn from nature, antiquities, and other cultures. After 26 years of potting, he produces a lyrical line of earthenware that is not only functional but unique and entertaining as well.

Today Steven works in the studio he built at his home in Bumpass, Virginia, tending his garden and goats, making pots 8-12 hours a day, and sharing his home with friends and loved ones. He feels truly blessed to have this lifestyle that has been supported by a large and loyal following of customers who have discovered his work at craft shows up and down the east coast.