Colorado Springs-based ceramic artist inspired by colors and flowers

Some people were born to be artists.

Going by Alexandra Rose Tanner’s name, she’s one of them. Her initials spell it out: A.R.T.

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The native of Northern California doesn’t remember a time when she wasn’t doing art in some form, whether it was doodling, drawing, print-making or painting.

“As a little kid, my secret desire was to grow up to be an artist,” Tanner, 29, said. “There’s so much fear with that. How do you make it as an artist?”

After some time overseas in her early 20s, she made up her mind to take the less-scary route of teaching art. Then, in 2018, a co-worker gifted Tanner some ceramic tools. She took an introductory wheel-throwing class.

“From the first day, I felt like, ‘This is what I’m supposed to be doing,’” she said. “It was pretty magical.”

She kept taking classes while attending Sacramento City College. When the coronavirus pandemic began, the ceramic studio closed, and classes were moved online. But Tanner found ways to keep making pottery.

By the end of 2020, she was selling her creations at markets and via social media. The pandemic created more interest in handcrafted home decor, Tanner noticed, which she saw as a “silver lining.”

For Tanner, there were enough signs to shift her path and pursue this particular form of art.

“There is something so incredible about holding the earth in your hands,” she said. “You start with dirt and turn it into something really functional and beautiful.”

Tanner, who moved to Colorado Springs in September, makes a mix of homeware, such as coffee mugs, bowls, vases, candlesticks and lamps. These items fall into one of Tanner’s favorite categories of art: functional.

And she makes her pieces with such quality that they could last a lifetime.

“I’m a firm believer that you only really need one good mug or one good bowl,” she said.

“If we find something that really meets our needs, it rids our need of excess.”

Her items often come with colorful and floral designs, some inspired by Tanner’s lifelong doodles. The flowery outlines coincide with another one of her lifelong loves that coincides with one of her initials.

“My middle name is Rose, so flowers have always been closely tied to my personhood,” she said. “I think most people just innately love flowers.”

Since moving here, Tanner has been working at Meadowfound Ceramics, a small studio space for independent potters. She also teaches ceramics at Pikes Peak Collective, a community art school in Old Colorado City.

She hopes to keep honing the craft she fell in love with just a few years ago. With each piece, she signs her artist name: “ART.” The letters remind her that this is what she was meant to do.