Mel Titus | Raku Ceramics in Richmond, VA | Nymphs Dancing In Sunflowers
Mel Titus | Raku Ceramics in Richmond, VA | Nymphs Dancing In Sunflowers

Raku-Fired Dancing Nymphs In Sunflower | Mel Titus

$145.00

Three nymphs mid-dance at the heart of a sunflower—bodies twined together, gilded, ecstatic. The longest day of the year, opened all the way. Mel Titus—the kiln goddess—hand-builds the sunflower, then surrenders it to the fire. The crackle, the copper flash, the smoke ghosting through the green-and-gold petals are all the kiln's gifts. Across The Universe gathers women who go somewhere most people are afraid to go. Mel's portal is the kiln. This is what she brought back.

Mel’s work is guided by a simple truth she holds close: “Nature inspires my work. Nature inspires my life.” She’s been making magic in the Richmond art & craft scene for over 40 years; owning one of her pieces is owning a slice of that rare, unbroken lineage of craft, wit, and open heart that’s unique to our city.


2026

10 × 10 in
Raku fired stoneware and glaze; wired and ready to hang

Three nymphs mid-dance at the heart of a sunflower—bodies twined together, gilded, ecstatic. The longest day of the year, opened all the way. Mel Titus—the kiln goddess—hand-builds the sunflower, then surrenders it to the fire. The crackle, the copper flash, the smoke ghosting through the green-and-gold petals are all the kiln's gifts. Across The Universe gathers women who go somewhere most people are afraid to go. Mel's portal is the kiln. This is what she brought back.

Mel’s work is guided by a simple truth she holds close: “Nature inspires my work. Nature inspires my life.” She’s been making magic in the Richmond art & craft scene for over 40 years; owning one of her pieces is owning a slice of that rare, unbroken lineage of craft, wit, and open heart that’s unique to our city.


2026

10 × 10 in
Raku fired stoneware and glaze; wired and ready to hang

Mel Titus | Raku Ceramic Artist | Crone House Richmond, VA
Mel Titus | Raku Ceramic Artist | Crone House Richmond, VA

Mel Titus has been in clay or mud since childhood, beginning with slipware alongside her mother in the 1960s. In the early 1970s, she apprenticed at the Hand Workshop, now the Visual Arts Center of Richmond, where her foundation in ceramic craft deepened. She later worked as a studio assistant at Freimarck Pottery in the 1980s and Camden Clayworks from 2012–2013.

At age 60, Mel opened her own pottery studio, Mel’s Pottery, originally in Ashland and now located in Richmond’s Bryan Park area.

Guided by her belief that “Nature inspires my work. Nature inspires my life,” her pieces reflect a lifelong conversation with the earth itself.

@mtitus7

ARTWORK BY MEL