Kiln it: St. George woman creates custom pottery for every occasion

ST. GEORGE —When a female artist decided to seize the clay, she turned her unique pottery designs into a successful business, complete with a unique signature that makes her art one-of-a-kind.

Gerri Abdollah stands inside her she-shed with a variety of her art, St. George, Utah, June 29, 2022 | Photo by Jessi Bang, St. George News
Gerri Abdollah stands inside her she-shed with a variety of her art, St. George, Utah, June 29, 2022 | Photo by Jessi Bang, St. George News

With an original goal in the ’70s to become a graphic designer, Gerri Abdollah, owner of Sunshyne Ceramics, said she’s always had a love for art and was able to hone in on her skills through a variety of college art classes at Utah Tech University and Utah State.

“I’ve always done art,” Abdollah said. “Pretty sure I was born doing it. Now I’m just an old lady that plays in the mud.”

After college, Abdollah segued into a banking career, then restaurant management and even flower shop ownership. Later, she became a licensed nail technician and still practices that craft today. While she’s done many “weird” things in her life, she is driven by the desire to continually learn new things.

“They say most people have three career changes,” Abdollah said. “I’m past that and I’ll probably still do one more. I’m not dead yet.”

A variety of ceramic art by Gerri Abdollah sits on a shelf inside her she-shed, St. George, Utah, June 29, 2022 | Photo by Jessi Bang, St. George News
A variety of ceramic art by Gerri Abdollah sits on a shelf inside her she-shed, St. George, Utah, June 29, 2022 | Photo by Jessi Bang, St. George News

While going through her second divorce, Abdollah said rather than sit home and cry like she had the first time, she decided to go back and take more art classes at Utah Tech University (formerly Dixie State), including pottery and ceramics.

Abdollah’s previous classroom experience in pottery included art instructors who wouldn’t allow her to fire her work due to her long nails. When she returned to Utah Tech, she was excited when one of the teachers said he would teach her the craft – with her nails just the way they were.

After completing a variety of art courses, Abdollah decided to bring her ceramic craft home. She purchased a kiln and began to practice hand-crafted art daily. As she fell in love with the endless possibilities and her skills grew, she gave her unique art away to friends and family.

Ceramic artwork by Gerri Abdollah is shown, St. George, Utah, date unspecified | Photo courtesy of Gerri Abdollah, St. George News
Ceramic artwork by Gerri Abdollah is shown, St. George, Utah, date unspecified | Photo courtesy of Gerri Abdollah, St. George News

One year, Abdollah said she and a friend agreed to do their first farmers’ market together. Her friend ultimately backed out and she knew she had to either back out herself or put herself out there to the community. She decided it finally was time to showcase her ceramic art in a big way and proceed into the market alone.

“I have regular clients now. I have people that buy stuff and send it to their kids for Christmas. I have one that just bought a platter and a ticket to Canada. My stuff is all over the world now and it’s just so weird,” Abdollah said.

Not only are the designs at Sunshyne Ceramics unique in themselves, but each of Abdollah’s ceramic mugs also features a distinct signature that sets them apart – a thumb rest.

A mug by Gerri Abdollah features her signature thumb rest, St. George, Utah, June 29, 2022 | Photo by Jessi Bang, St. George News
A mug by Gerri Abdollah features her signature thumb rest, St. George, Utah, June 29, 2022 | Photo by Jessi Bang, St. George News

“I just liked how the thumb rest felt,” Abdollah said. “I don’t like to hold a mug where the handle is in the middle of the mug, it just doesn’t feel like it’s sturdy in your hand. I just put them on there out of comfort and next thing I know, it became my thing.”

When she experiences stress or takes on the energy of one of her nail clients who is going through a hard time, Abdollah said she simply goes outside to create art and all of life’s worries magically disappear. As she takes the money she earns from her items and puts it directly back into her business, she knows she will never be financially rich from her art, she’ll be wealthy in other ways.

“Most artists will never be rich, but they aren’t the kind of people that do it for the money. They do it because they love what they do,” Abdollah said. 

At 66 years old, Abdollah said her children often ask when she is going to retire, but she loves the life she is currently living. As a practicing nail technician along with a ceramic artist, she’s able to do both her art at home, with an in-home nail studio and a she-shed in the backyard created specifically for pottery and painting.

“What am I going to do, sit in a recliner? That’s not me. This is my form of retirement. Slow down a little bit, still do what I want to do,” Abdollah said,

To purchase custom art from Sunshyne Ceramics, visit the downtown MoFACo shop in person, see some of the available art here, or contact Sunshyne Ceramics on Instagram or Facebook for custom orders.

Photo Gallery

Copyright St. George News, SaintGeorgeUtah.com LLC, 2022, all rights reserved.

Free News Delivery by Email

Would you like to have the day's news stories delivered right to your inbox every evening? Enter your email below to start!