Design by Vu

Magazine Feature, Published in Paprika Southern

An airy breeze blows through Trang Vu’s pottery studio on Whitemarsh Island.  As a professional interior designer, she has created an architecturally savvy space for her kiln and pottery wheel that she built herself right out of her garage. Her pottery wheel faces out to the sights and sounds of her neighborhood where she spends hours honing her artistic talent towards the creation of clay ceramics.  

Trang and her family moved from Melbourne, Australia, to Savannah four years ago. To avoid feeling homesick and to engage with the community, Trang enrolled in a pottery workshop at Savannah’s Clay Spot and immediately became hooked with the hands-on elements of throwing clay.  When viewing her perfectly shaped plates and bowls with vibrant hand-painted colors, one would assume she was born to be a ceramicist.  

“It was addictive for me, and since I have always enjoyed the tactile aspects of design and working with materials, it became therapeutic,” Trang says. “I was in a trance where I couldn’t stop and spent a lot of hours doing it.”  

This is how she developed her aesthetic and found her niche for her signature pieces in the last year and a half. Her work is both artistic and functional; you may have eaten off some of the first plates she created for the Collins Quarters restaurant.

There is always a bit of a story in each of her collections relating back to her native Australia with memories of Melbourne and its lush landscapes, brilliant earth tones and textures. Each piece is individually hand-thrown on her wheel and hand-painted. By experimenting with different forms and playing around with colors, she developed her own technique with splashes of harmonious watercolors, glossy glazes and texturizing with drawn-on collages of some of her favorite plants, like the gum tree. Every plate, bowl and vase are unique, custom made to inspire sentimental value.

“When someone finds the beauty in one of my works,” she says, “they usually see something that reminds them of where they are from, too.”   

There is a distinct tranquility in the garage studio she designed, which speaks to her meditative approach to her artistic hobby. She likes to listen to music in the background to get her into a rhythm with the clay.  

“Pottery is like meditation; I have to be centered in order to center the clay. Pottery has taught me patience—kids will teach you that too.”  With two small children, to keep it all balanced, Trang says she involves them, and they love it.  

“There is a magical quality to how clay can be transformed so quickly and beautifully, I highly recommend everybody at some stage in their life play with clay.” 

Trang remains a member of Savannah Clay Community and creates designs for clients based on collaborative inspirations. She shows her work at the local markets and you can also purchase her ceramics on her website.