The Secret garden collection

The Secret Garden collection is a series of hand-built functional pots with intricate, hand painted floral designs. I celebrate the process on all of my pieces, leaving evidence of its creation and humanness. My work is elaborately decorated in floral imagery, reminiscent of the domestic crafts historically regarded as women’s work. I aim to challenge the intersection of beauty and function, craft and fine art. The forms are built intuitively, from soft slabs and coils, creating a sense of child-like play and naivety. I hope they remind you of playing in the garden or running through a field of flowers and inspire the child and artist within each of you. 

About the artist

Krista Cortese has a background in painting, printmaking and sculpture and received a Bachelor of Fine Arts from Pacific Lutheran University in 2011 with a minor in Art History. In 2016 she immersed herself back into the ceramics community through the Continuing Education program at North Seattle College. A few years later in 2019, looking to grow as an artist and professional, she began an assistantship to Deborah Schwartzkopf at Rat City Studios in Seattle, Washington. Krista currently works full time as a ceramic artist and educator out of her home studio in North Seattle. She is now offering memberships and mentoring to students in addition to instructing lessons, workshops and teaching classes at Rain City Clay. She hopes to facilitate a creative environment that is therapeutic, fun and explorative for her students. Krista makes functional pottery that celebrates the rituals of everyday life with an emphasis on joyful, floral compositions with the charm of naivety.