JT Beggs
I am a shepherd, chef, musician and craftsperson and currently the acting manager and Artist in Residence of Owl Peak Studios. If you buy mica clay from our studio, most likely I made it.
My micaceous clay cookware is dug, coiled, scraped and polished in the tradition of our Master potter the late Felipe Ortega from his family's clay pits. From Jicarilla Apache and Hispanic roots, Felipe continued the family tradition.
- My pottery is born from a hopefulness in my hands, a grand old way of craftsmanship and the unimaginably profound potential of the original creative material - Earth.
Each vessel is made carefully, created in respect of tradition, integrity and attention to detail. With the help of few modern tools, the maker must be involved in every single little or large step in the process, each clay pot becomes is own being, entirely unique to all the others. I take great care in bringing every one of them to life. May this pottery bring great beauty to your kitchen and may this clay sit upon your table and contribute to the delicious smells, enjoyment and rich shine of daily life with you and your family.
Beggs is ensconced and nested in as the artist in residence at Owl Peak Studios, the home/studio created by Felipe Ortega, the late master teacher of all our mica potters. Beggs is also a shepherd, a chef, a musician and a farmer. He is a conjurer of mica clay vessels for cooking. A hands on creator, he takes pride in bringing forth food he grows as a farmer (he has a CSA too) and making useful beauty in the form of cook pots from the mica infused earth he has hand-dug and processed. Herein is his music – that he has shepherded into every lasting vessel.
