About

Hi, I am Scott Hess. I took up pottery after retiring from software engineering. I decided to take some classes, and it stuck.

I work out of the Palo Alto Art Center, a community studio. You can reach me at scott.hess@gmail.com. I am also periodically on Instagram @dscotthess.

I mostly create mugs, as I find the output rewarding. Mugs want to be held and looked at. I can put a lot of time into a piece and feel like it was worthwhile. Mugs can also support a strong style without distracting from their contents.

My pieces are created with food-safe materials and fired to cone 10. The samples I've tested were vitrified and had nominal absorption (under 0.5%). I microwave them and run them through the dishwasher, and thus far the only breakage has been from obvious, such as being dropped. Still, each piece is handmade and not all variables are rigorously controlled, so mileage may vary. I overthink this A LOT.