Brendon Stetten: A Glimpse of the Artist Behind the Work
As Troy Bungart Studios hosts a Michiana Pottery Tour stop for the first time, we wanted to introduce everyone to the guest artists visiting us at the 2025 Michiana Pottery Tour September 27 & 28, 2025 here in Three Rivers, Michigan.
Ceramic artist Brendon Stretten talks with Troy Bungart Studios about his work in advance of the 2025 Michiana Pottery Tour
Brendon Stretten is a potter for the people. Humble and unpretentious, he embodies the spirit of the conscientious folk potters of earlier centuries yet his mind and professional spirit is firmly tethered to the 21st century. He considers himself an inclusive person and is an advocate for, and practitioner of, the pursuit of lifelong learning.
Brendon’s first exposure to clay art was when he was 7 or 8 years old when he kept his grandma company in the studio she had at her house. It felt natural as an adult to return to the clay studio, so he took hobby handbuilding and wheel throwing ceramic classes at a community college. When he moved, he found a new community college and continued taking ceramic classes.
Brendon says he has “a soft spot” for community colleges after having gone to several. He likes that community colleges attract people of all ages and walks of life.
A peek inside Brendon Stretten’s studio where he creates mugs that are “much more than a handful of dirt and minerals.”
Eventually Brendon decided to establish his own clay studio to make and sell his ceramic work. He’s been doing pottery for 11 years now. His fascination with ceramics is that he can take base elements and raw materials and go through the whole process from concept to finished work. He finds satisfaction in placing something that’s “much more than a handful of dirt and minerals” into someone’s hands.
Brendon hopes his collectors appreciate the care and craftsmanship he puts into the creation of a piece. He has a dedicated following of fond collectors of his work who especially like his mugs and claim using his mugs day in and day out becomes the backbone of their morning drinking ritual!
Detail of a mug by Brendon Stretten demonstrating the smooth rim and balanced handle that his collectors say makes a mug by Brendon an essential part of their daily morning routine!
The same mug in its entirety to show Brendon’s simple yet iconic decorating style using underglazes and glazes.
Brendon loves to make mugs and has put consideration into the ergonomic designs of his drinkware. He is aware that when a person uses a drinking vessel, it is an intimate act, so he considers the finished feeling of the rim—where the mouth touches the mug—and the balance and comfort of the handle, because those are the elements that make or break the experience.
How Brendon decorates and finishes his pieces further endears him to his clientele. He keeps it simple and straightforward but thoughtful. In that, it seems he imbues his work with his personality. Using simple designs and silhouettes, Brendon presents iconic imagery in a heartwarming and humorous “Americana-meets-cryptid” style.
He imagines the potential of one of his bigfoot mugs, for instance, used in a sitcom by a dad or crazy uncle as a clue to that character’s weird and wonderful personality. He figures a person who drinks from one of his mugs is comfortable in himself and the world he lives in, and, maybe, even a bit of a free thinker.
Brendon finds that a side benefit of being a studio potter is that it gives him so much time to continue to learn. While he works in his studio, currently located in an old General Motors plant in Pontiac, Michigan, he likes to exercise his mind, sometimes enjoying up to 10 audiobooks or 50 hours of podcasts a week! He choses topics to explore in-depth and suits himself as to what those topics tend to be. His favorite authors and hosts are those that keep open minds and hold civil conversations and interactions. He believes that it helps him do his best transformative ceramic work when he is exposing himself to thoughtful people who can think, dialogue and even disagree respectfully.
Brendon Stretten’s maker’s mark: a B created with a paintbrush dipped in underglaze and the roman numerals that indicate the year the vessel was made.
Look for Brendon’s unique maker’s mark. He signs his work with a “B” using a paintbrush dipped in underglaze then adds roman numerals that indicate the year he created each piece.
Brendon Stretten does many pottery shows every year. We at Troy Bungart Studios and the Michiana Pottery Tour are grateful that Brendon carved out time to be here this year at stop #10 in Three Rivers, Michigan.
Go ahead. buy a mug from Brendon. Maybe even a cryptid mug. Be an “in the know” kind of collector.
