Can you tell us a little about yourself?
My name is Josh Cook, and I live in Lawrence, KS. I collect cacti and succulents, and make and sell pottery as my full-time business – Cooked Earth. I spend a lot of time with my plants everyday… admiring, staging, caretaking, etc. My plants keep my pottery inspired. I also love to spend time in nature. From walks in the neighborhood – to hiking and camping in the national parks. I share my life with my beautiful wife… and we place the utmost importance on quality time and smelling the roses on this crazy journey through life.
How and when did you start working with ceramics?
I took a few years of ceramics classes in highschool… though never pursued it professionally until more recently when I became inspired and driven by making pots for my cacti and succulent collection. I was introduced to the collecting, showing, and staging world of cacti and succulents while working at a nursery in Santa Barbara, CA. Aiming to achieve my vision of the perfect pot brought me back to the pottery studio in 2022.
What are some of the things that inspire your work?
The intercity show was one of my biggest early inspirations. I have always viewed plants as living art – especially when displayed in and around the home. I love how the cacti and succulents pair with a pot to form a complete piece of living art… inspired by a rugged, natural look. When making a pot, my goal is to have it look like it was pulled right from the Earth itself. For these reasons, I seek natural textures and colors in my pottery that do not distract from the beauty of the plants they house.
What are some of your favorite plants to grow and how they influence your work?
Some of my favorite species, although always changing, include copiapoa, lophophora, ariocarpus, lithops, and various caudiciforms. I love the shapes, colors, and textures found in these plants (and others), and I love their histories and stories as individual species. I also love how each specimen within a species is unique… this reminds me of how each one of us are unique, and we’re all growing, slowly but surely, and in our own way, everyday.
What's in the near future for you and your work?
I am currently building my glaze recipe-book to include more colors, and expanding my uses of texture as well. I have been full-time with my pottery work since early 2024, when I moved to the midwest to expand my personal studio space, so my process is more focused, expansive, and inspired than ever. I am continuing to complicate my designs, and hope to bring new styles to my customers every couple of weeks. I ship worldwide, and am looking to be found in a nursery near you 🙂
