Life & Work with Annie Raysse of Mar Vista

Today we’d like to introduce you to Annie Raysse.

Hi Annie, please kick things off for us with an introduction to yourself and your story.
I am a mom, a potter and a death doula.
I started doing pottery about 7 years ago and got certified as a death doula a year and a half ago.

Recently I joined my two passions by starting a workshop about death and pottery. I lead an hour long discussion about death. We discuss our relationship with death, our beliefs around it, and our fears.

I think if we can reframe the way we think about, talk about and engage with death as something natural and part of the life experience, the less we will fear it, and the more our lives open up to be fuller and more beautiful.

After that I teach the students to coil build an urn. The urn can be symbolic or used for yourself, a loved one or a pet. It’s been really incredible to watch people grow and learn plus it’s actually fun!

Can you talk to us a bit about the challenges and lessons you’ve learned along the way. Looking back would you say it’s been easy or smooth in retrospect?
It’s been a smooth road for me because I let it all happen organically. I wasn’t planing on selling my pottery when I first started and I never planned on becoming a death doula. Both jobs happened really naturally.
I get to play with clay and help people transition to the other side. I feel insanely lucky.

Can you tell our readers more about what you do and what you think sets you apart from others?
My work is very organic. No two pieces are exactly the same.
I make everything from mugs to urns to matcha sets but I love hand building large vessels the most.

Is there anyone you’d like to thank or give credit to?
My mom is also a potter so she would definitely be my biggest supporter. We work out of the same community studio and have become closer than ever over the last few years. We bounce ideas off each other and help each other with creating pieces or coming up with
new ideas.

She has also been my biggest cheerleader with my death work and has changed some of her outlooks on death after long discussions at the wheel.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://anniegpottery.com/
• Instagram: Annierayssepottery