Lou Rhys - Tall Oaks Workshop
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grimmandgorey.bsky.social
Lou Rhys - Tall Oaks Workshop
@grimmandgorey.bsky.social
390 followers 240 following 130 posts
queer little weirdo.
full-time glazer, part-time glazier.

any pronouns.
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grimmandgorey.bsky.social
Sometimes keeping it simple is the best statement of all.

I sent this customer piece immediately to my husband with a big ol "SEE IT ISN'T JUST ME! THERE ARE DOZENS OF US! DOZENS!!!"

#customerwork #paintyourownpottery
A plain white ceramic plate with black text placed slightly off-center reading "The rage I feel when people are in the kitchen at the same time as me isn't normal." I love pieces with a story. Same, painter. Same.
November 19, 2025 at 1:31 AM
grimmandgorey.bsky.social
Yesss! It's a shockingly difficult piece. I've seen a bunch at this point and all the brown just gets overwhelming. I tried to play with antiquing/underpainting but didn't push it enough.

This is my favorite customer rendition! I vastly prefer it and will likely redo my sample to be closer in tone.
The same ceramic capybara box, this time painted with mostly tan and ginger brown details. It says "HAPPY NINTH" faintly across the barrel in pinks and yellows.
November 19, 2025 at 1:06 AM
grimmandgorey.bsky.social
This was a fun one to paint, but all I can see is the things I want to change. Too monochrome, not enough contrast. Ah well, practice makes perfect. Get 'em next time.

🍊

#paintyourownpottery #pyop
A ceramic trinket box, shaped like a capybara taking a bath in a wooden barrel! There is a yellow rubber ducky on its head. Most of the object is glazed in brown tones, with some darker details and grey bands on the barrel. A close-up! Just the pottery capybara. Earthenware paint-your-own low-fire ceramic object, a trinket box of a bathing capybara with a little ducky instead of a tasty satsuma. Glazed and fired.
November 19, 2025 at 12:16 AM
grimmandgorey.bsky.social
I'm just here to show this off 'cause it was pretty. Don't ask me why I keep posting food and then dipping. I don't know how to behave right now.
A photo of a clear glass bowl on a wooden cutting board. In the bowl sits a serving of mashed potatoes with scattered baked crunchy lentils and chunks of baked herby zucchini.
October 31, 2025 at 1:42 AM
grimmandgorey.bsky.social
Hey, hey, hey if you too are in need of a good chicken wing replacement-- may I introduce you to my new favorite thing?

Butler Soy Curls flavored with buffalo and wrapped in rice paper before baking. Eerily good.
Faux chicken wings on an aluminum baking sheet. They are lined up and crispy-looking, doing a pretty good impression of the original! Pale hand holding one of the wings, whole and unbitten. Another pale hand holding a wing, but this one has been bitten open.
October 14, 2025 at 3:14 PM
grimmandgorey.bsky.social
SOY CURLS. they're what's for dinner.

Like, constantly lately. I can't stop. So good.
A delicious bowl of tricolor tortellini, roasted broccoli, and pan-fried soy curls!
October 3, 2025 at 1:01 PM
grimmandgorey.bsky.social
Been cookin' up a storm, and sort of finally falling into vegetarianism in the process. This meal was actually accidentally vegan!

Been talking to my veggie coworker about it a lot and going back to recipes of my childhood. When I miss my mom, cooking a meal helps.
Close-up on a bowl with two parts of a meal. A pearl couscous with white beans and broccoli sits at the bottom of the frame. The top contains my first time making Butler brand Soy Curls! With sauteed orange pepper that was forgotten in the bottom drawer of the fridge. The shredded texture is nice, and I'm familiar with soya chunks so they are pretty easy to use!
September 23, 2025 at 3:42 AM
grimmandgorey.bsky.social
Twins! One has a satin base and one has a glossy base. One always lies and the other always tells the truth. 👀✨
Two big-bellied ceramic mugs, waiting for their final glaze firing. They both have black bases with layers of Gare Pottery glazes on top (Riverstone, Robin's Egg, and Pottery Patina), and look nearly identical at the moment. Once fired, one will have a glossy base and the other will have a satin matte one.
September 18, 2025 at 8:42 PM
grimmandgorey.bsky.social
?????? What is this supposed to be? The mystery astounds us.
Image of a piece of mystery vintage bisque ceramic pottery, a circle shape that reads, "FOR PEOPLE WHO DON'T SMOKE." What is it and what does it mean???
September 13, 2025 at 7:55 PM
grimmandgorey.bsky.social
Hey look, it didn't crack in half! Hate the shape, but it's nice to have junk shapes to use as test tiles for specific surfaces. Wish I felt less queasy at the sight of lightning bolts right now...
A successful glaze test! A ceramic lightning bolt shape, now fired and full of colors and texture. Lime green, pink, teal, blue, red, and more collide on the surface. Fun with Jungle Gems!
September 8, 2025 at 3:25 PM
grimmandgorey.bsky.social
It's either gonna be way too little or way too much and I'm excited to see where my mistakes take me.
A piece of glazed and unfired ceramic sits on a stack of grey newsprint paper. It is a bowl-like shape, covered in waves of tan, black, and white. It should be sandy with some blue flow... Should be. Hopefully. May the kiln gods be kind to my hubris.
September 8, 2025 at 2:50 PM
grimmandgorey.bsky.social
And the piece from this vintage 70/80s stash that I am most excited about...

Budai is my guy, I am over the goddamn moon to be able to paint my own. 🥹 My manager put him on the shelf and I yelped loudly and immediately wrapped him up to go home lol. He's perfect. I am so excited.
A bare bisque earthenware stylized figurine of Budai/Hotei, standing on a desk with a bunch of clutter around it. He has a price tag stuck on top of his head like a hat, and arms raised in traditional style.
September 5, 2025 at 9:23 PM
grimmandgorey.bsky.social
Jungle Gemssssssssss. 🤤 These were such useless nonsense junk as boxes but good for globbin' on some combo tests.
A close-up of a box shaped like a lightning bolt, covered in glaze and ready to be fired. It's earthenware bisque, and the glazes are Jungle Gems-- Mardi Gras and Coral Puff. They shouldn't move too much at 06, but we shall see...
September 5, 2025 at 9:12 PM
grimmandgorey.bsky.social
My boss picked up a bundle of old items from a studio that closed in the early 80s and only recently started to clear out... And I have been losing my mind over it all. 50 year old greenware, wrapped in old local newspapers.

Who is this man and what is he doing??? 👀
A pale hand holds a piece of white greenware pottery, a strangely positioned man with a mustache.
September 4, 2025 at 2:39 PM
grimmandgorey.bsky.social
My nonsense definitely got up to some shenanigans while they were away. Got something in the direction of the green I was looking for, but at what cost lol.
Close up photo of a fired ceramic bowl. Some surface is a satin black, and some (including a spiral in the center) is a mottled green.
September 3, 2025 at 12:12 AM
grimmandgorey.bsky.social
Wish my nonsense the best of luck.
Two pieces of glazed but unfired pieces of pottery, sitting on a baker's rack. They have chalky, matte surfaces with some crystals and odd colors.
September 1, 2025 at 9:05 PM
grimmandgorey.bsky.social
Obviously needed a little @dimension20.bsky.social quote on the bottom to tie it together.
Circle of white ceramic, the bottom of the glass. Reads "'I'm all the BAD GUYS.'", a quote from Dimension 20, plus my signature "LR25" in loopy text.
August 31, 2025 at 2:46 AM
grimmandgorey.bsky.social
Kinda scrawled out the lettering on this one, not my proudest work but kinda dug the vibe. Weh.
"due to personal reasons, I am evil now."
Front view of the goblet on white background. Painted white and splattered with red, the glass has black cursive scrawl across it. "due to personal reasons, I am evil now."
August 31, 2025 at 2:42 AM
grimmandgorey.bsky.social
Painted myself a goblet for GM/DMing, except I don't drink alcohol so it's for chocolate soymilk or powdered energy drink mix.
Photo of a ceramic goblet, seen from above. The goblet is painted white with splatters of watered-down red. Inside is chocolate milk. The background is blank white.
August 31, 2025 at 2:37 AM
grimmandgorey.bsky.social
Tried practicing my writing with the tiny detail bottles my job supplies, as I would like to get better at rendering serif text for an event soon.

Mostly just ended up liking the doodle on the bottom the most. Typical lol.
A photo of the bottom of a glazed but unfired ceramic mug. The base is a speckled off-white and there is a dark brown line art earthworm wearing a cowboy hat and a polka dot bandana, signed "LR 25".
August 25, 2025 at 5:23 PM
grimmandgorey.bsky.social
In a strange twist of fate, I found a second job. I now restore historic windows one day a week, alongside teaching pottery painting full time.

I am a professional glazer and glazier.
A window frame, set with glass that has not yet been puttied in. It is painted white and sitting upon a well-worn brown surface. The same window, amateurishly puttied in. Now the edge of glass is concealed by a bevel of putty that will help hold it in place against the weather. Don't worry, I'm still in training on the finesse of this one lol.
August 11, 2025 at 10:18 PM
grimmandgorey.bsky.social
Trying out a different texture technique. Always startled by how much I love a good black antiquing wash. Sample for work.
A ceramic dragon head, painted in blended lime greens and teals. It has orange eyes and is either sticking out an orange tongue or has an orange coin in its mouth. The texture is highlighted by a black wash.
July 29, 2025 at 10:44 PM
grimmandgorey.bsky.social
Losing my cat hit me harder than I could admit out loud. I detached from this platform and made some life changes. Floated until it felt like I wasn't sinking anymore.

Been making a lot of good food.

As always, my grief has made me cook.
A baking tray, lined with parchment paper and covered in sliced radishes. Some are coins or quarters of white-fleshed small ones with purple and pink skins, and some are watermelon radish doing a good imitation of its namesake. A plate of good, hearty food. Couscous with chickpeas, snap peas with edamame and walnuts, and roasted radishes. All seasoned mostly with lemon as the main factor.
July 8, 2025 at 1:48 AM
grimmandgorey.bsky.social
Things have been really grim in my life lately, and I'm never the sort to celebrate myself-- especially birthdays. This birthday, however, has made me reflect on how I am supported by the people around me. We worked hard all day and then my coworkers came out singing with a cake and reader, I cried.
A photograph of a beautiful little birthday cake, sitting on a stack of newsprint paper with two plates around it. It's covered in white frosting and rainbow pastel sprinkles, with four tall candles burnt and blown out on top. It's the first cake I've been given in a long, long time. It's so, so beautiful and I am so thankful for it.
February 20, 2025 at 2:37 AM
grimmandgorey.bsky.social
Goodbye, queen Bea. Rest easy my Beanie Baby.
A dark brown paw print on a white bisque maneki neko figurine. A memorial for the best damn cat my world has ever seen.
February 6, 2025 at 2:30 PM