Her February Octopus Mug is a deep dive into those classical influences. First inspired by Jacques Cousteau’s octopus documentaries and later revisited in an airbrushed illustration, the motif resurfaced when a slab‑built mug in 2023 seemed to ask for “a little more of something.” With a few more years of clay under her belt, Lisa set out to create a fully realized design: an octopus reaching up toward a mug, its tentacles interacting with the object rather than functioning as structural supports.
 
The form itself is all curves and quiet movement, meant to slip comfortably into a Craftsman or Art Nouveau collection while echoing the silhouettes of Roman vessels. The tentacles become a case study in elegant simplification; the color palette nods to classical Greek pottery; the overall form draws n Chinese and Japanese archetypes. It’s a small object with a global family tree.

The result will be a mug that embodies Lisa’s love of adaptive technique and illusion, a piece that feels at home in several historical traditions at once, while still carrying the quiet drama of an octopus reaching for its prize.