Smiling elderly man holding two kittens, one plush rabbit toy, in a cozy home setting with candles and decorative items in the background.

Over 50 years at the wheel

I’ve always liked making things with my hands, and for more than 50 years, that has meant throwing pottery, mixing glazes, building kilns, and setting up shop where ever we live.

I grew up in Beverly Hills, the son of a doctor. After narrowly missing the Vietnam draft, I realized that an ordinary life wasn't for me. In the late 1960s, I moved to Northern California and joined a hippie commune. That's where I met my wife, Suzanne—Rainbow, as everyone called her then. We fell in love at first sight and we were married three months later. That was over 50 years ago now.

I studied pottery at Penland School of Crafts in North Carolina and began my career at The Pot Shop in Venice Beach. Since then, Suzanne and I have traveled the world, including 25 years in Namibia, Southern Africa.

Today I work from my home studio in Madison, Wisconsin, making functional and decorative stoneware and porcelain meant to be used and enjoyed.

Georgie is our orange cat and my almost-constant studio companion. He spends a little time each day nestled in my apron and the rest sitting beside my wheel, supervising my work—or napping.

  • John Hunter smiling and holding two small, carved elephant sculptures in a workshop with shelves of pottery and ceramic supplies.

    Elephants

  • sitting on a couch in a living room. One woman has shoulder-length hair and is wearing a dark patterned shirt, holding a drink. The other person has blonde hair and is wearing a light-colored flannel shirt,

    John and Rainbow

  • Person wearing a patterned jacket and yellow gloves is using a pottery wheel to shape a clay pot on a sandy ground.

    John in the early "hippie" days

  • John Hunter wearing a gray cap and black vest, standing inside a brick kiln surrounded by shelves of various pottery, including vases, bowls, and pitchers.

    At the Kiln

  • Construction site with a brick kiln in progress, surrounded by tools and materials, with trees and blue sky in the background.

    Building a Kiln

  • John Hunter holding a ceramic plate, in a room with wooden shelves filled with pottery and ceramics.

    Functional stoneware

  • Black and white wedding announcement photo of Mr. and Mrs. John Hunter, with the bride wearing a lace gown and floral headpiece, and the groom with long hair, embracing with foreheads touching.

    Two weeks after we met

  • sitting comfortably in a wooden armchair in a cozy living room with hardwood flooring and a patterned rug. Behind him is a wooden bookshelf filled with decorative bowls, plates, and other dishware. To the right, there is a white air purifier, and in the background, there is a workout bike in a separate room.

    At home in Madison, WI