Rutkowsky Pottery, just outside Burnsville, showcases two distinct bodies of work merged into one enterprise. Both accomplished potters in their own right, Michael Rutkowsky and Ruth Fischer Rutkowsky joined forces as Rutkowsky Pottery in 2011. Michael’s work gains distinction with his signature style of slip and glaze trailing. His pottery is lightweight yet durable, and his forms are balanced and artful. Ruth’s primary love is sculpture, and she blends this love with her drive to create functional work using a hand-etched sgraffito. In sgraffito, the potter covers the surface with a slip and then carves into it to reveal the color underneath. Her work is often aimed at inspiration through custom pieces and items such as prayer orbs.
Visitors can find a variety of functional, decorative, and inspirational pieces in progress at Rutkowsky Pottery. Michael and Ruth enjoy sharing their work and process with visitors and give brief tours. They share studio space, materials, and a large propane fueled kiln. They mix their clay, slips, and glazes on-site using recipes from their unique formulas developed over time. Rutkowsky pots are wheel thrown, slab built, or extruded by hand. A showroom offers a large selection of works from both Michael’s and Ruth’s own distinct lines of work for sale.
Hours: 10 am-6 pm. Please call ahead.
