Life in the Studio: Inspiration and Lessons on Creativity

A handbook for leading a creatively fulfilling life from renowned potter Frances Palmer.

“Roll-up-your-sleeves advice on throwing pottery, growing dahlias, cooking her tried-and-true recipes, and everything in between.”―Martha Stewart Living

What makes a creative life? For an artist like Frances Palmer, it’s knitting all of one’s passions―all of one’s creativity―into the whole of life. And what an inspiration it is.

A renowned potter, an entrepreneur, a gardener, a photographer, a cook, a beekeeper, Palmer has over the course of three decades caught the attention not only of the countless people who collect and use her ceramics but also of designers and design lovers, writers, and fellow artists who marvel at her example. Now, in her first book, she finally tells her story, in her own words and images, distilling from her experiences lessons that will inspire a new generation of makers and entrepreneurs.

Life in the Studio is as beautiful and unexpected as Palmer’s pottery, as breathtakingly colorful as her celebrated dahlias, as intimate as the dinners she hosts in her studio for friends and family. There are insights into making pots―the importance of centering, the discovery that clay has a memory. Strategies for how to turn a passion into a business―the value to be found in collaboration, what it means to persevere, how to develop and stick to a routine that will sustain both enthusiasm and productivity. There are also step-by-step instructions (for throwing her beloved Sabine pot, growing dahlias, building an opulent flower arrangement). Even some of her most tried-and-true recipes.

The result is a portrait of a unique artist and a singularly generous manual on how to live a creative life.

“Suited to any type of creative, offering up lessons on inspiration and creativity that are sure to bring out your inner talent.” ―House Beautiful, Best New Design Books 

Frances Palmer, author of Life in the Studio and the forthcoming Life with Flowers, is a potter known for her handmade functional ceramics, a gardener known especially for her dahlias, and a photographer who finds her greatest inspiration where her flowers meet her pots. Her work has been featured in T: The New York Times Style Magazine, Vogue, Elle Décor, Martha Stewart Living, The World of Interiors, House & Garden,British House & Garden, and Veranda, among other publications. She lives, works, and gardens in Weston, Connecticut. Follow her on Instagram at @francespalmer.