Founded in 2009, Portland’s Pigeon Toe Ceramics has a simple goal, “to provide mankind with everyday beauty.” Their ceramic goods are delightfully simple, function first with little endearing quirks. Aside from tabletop objects, Pigeon Toe also excels at pots and vases for both inside and in the garden.

A look at some personal Pigeon Toe favorites after the jump.

Ceramicist Jessica Harrison will open a solo show at London’s Jealous Gallery on April 28, 2011. The artist’s series of dismembered or otherwise cut figurines, entitled Breaking, forms the basis of the show.

A full preview, via Arrested Motion, after the jump.

Humans and animals are the central themes of ceramicist Kate MacDowell’s sculpture. Sometimes the two intertwine. Sometimes the sculptures form larger narratives – for instance she’s produced an amazing series that relates to bird hunting. And, at other times, the sculpture simply causes a bit of mental unrest.

Laura Zindel Design is a husband and wife team (Laura Zindel and Thorsten Lauterbach) working with ceramics from their home in Guilford, VT. Zindel’s precise illustrations decorate each and every piece of ceramic – and no stone is left unturned, every imaginable cup, dish, platter, and saucer are available – hand made in either VT or Rochester, NY. The aesthetic is distinct, and it wouldn’t be unfair to classify the pieces are more masculine than the average tableware. And, while the illustrations are terrific, the real joy is in the shapes utilized throughout the collection.

Available from Blackbird.

More looks at Laura Zindel ceramics after the jump.

Phoebe Richardson’s Left Eye Right Eye collection transfers the artists skeleton and skull driven illustration to fine bone China made in Stoke-on-Trent. Quality, quirky stuff for the dinner table.

Available direct.

More looks at Left Eye Right Eye after the jump.

This fun ceramic set by Endoven-based designer Joon Lee finds cups fixed to a central jug by ropes. Called the “Drink Link,” the project allows Lee to explore notions of conversation and to bring together all parties at a table. (via Dezeen).

More images after the jump.

DesignBoom reports on a fascinating installation by Los Angeles-based studio Sports. Created by Molly Hunker and Greg Corso, Stay Down Champion, Stay Down forms an undulating walkway through the entire Woodbury University Hollywood Gallery. The flooring, built from terracotta tiles, invites visitors to traverse the space and consider the changing pitch. Consider also the juxtaposition against the neighboring Hollywood Boulevard Walk of Fame, and the effect is compounded.

On view through January 14, 2011.

Wuho
6518 Hollywood Blvd.
Los Angeles, CA, 90028

Apparently interest in skateboards made of fragile materials is still high. Charles Krafft sells his – made of porcelain – for $2,500. The pieces are hand painted and made to order by the artist. (via WBE).

Theory meets practice in Apparatu’s “FTC” collection. In collaboration with Spanish designer Alex Trochut, Apparatu (artist Xavier Manosa Ciria) arrests motion with a series of ceramic skate decks representing various stakes of destruction. Some pieces hit directly on reality, the decks simply broken, others are more abstract in their disintegration. The complete series happily mixes colors and shape to produce a winning whole. (via DesignBoom).

More ceramic skate fails after the jump.

From Wallpaper*, “In the January issue (W*142), Wallpaper* investigate the increasing trend for designers to desire an audience for their creative processes. While once designers used to be the people behind the scenes, these days its the making of that everyone wants to see. One such design team are Studio Glithero (Sarah van Gameren and Tim Simpson). An important part of their process is to produce films that document the making of their products in an attempt ‘to capture the spirit that exists in the moment that things are made’. Here they document the making of their latest Blueware collection. Plants are pressed and dried before attached to the surface of the vase. The vases are then exposed to a UV light on a rotating spit, causing them to change colour while leaving a clear white silhouette of where the plants were attached. The vases are then rinsed in a special type of acid to reveal a deep blue hue which contrasts beautifully with the ghostly white shadow of the plants.”