WILD & GATHERED

For Brandy Green-Russell, founder of Green Outdoors Studios, a childhood spent hunting, fishing, and exploring the woods continues to shape her work as a ceramic artist, mother, and small-business owner. For some, a coffee mug is simply part of the morning routine. For Brandy, it’s an opportunity to bring a little of the outdoors into everyday life. As the founder of Green Outdoors: Studios & Boutique LLC, Brandy creates handmade pottery featuring wildlife, hunting imagery, and designs inspired by the natural world. From mugs decorated with elk sheds and deer to functional kitchenware, her work reflects a lifelong connection to the outdoors and an appreciation for the traditions that bring families together. The story behind Green Outdoors Studios goes well beyond pottery. It’s one shaped by childhood adventures, years of studying and teaching art, and a decision to pursue a different path after becoming a mother.

From Childhood Adventures to a Career in Ceramics

Brandy grew up in a family where hunting, fishing, and trapping were part of everyday life. Both of her parents were active outdoorsmen who included their children in their adventures from an early age. Whether spending time in the woods or on the water, those experiences helped her develop a connection to the land and an understanding of where her food came from. After deer camp, the family worked together to process their harvested meat. Those traditions remain an important influence on the functional pottery she creates today, particularly pieces intended for the kitchen and family table.

Her interest in working with clay began in 2014 while pursuing her bachelor’s degree at College of the Ozarks. The medium brought back memories 4of one of her favorite childhood pastimes, playing in the mud and catching frogs. Brandy graduated in 2016 and continued her education at Texas Tech University, where she earned a master’s degree in ceramics in 2021. She went on to spend four years as a 3D art professor at the University of the Ozarks, teaching the next generation of artists while continuing to develop her own creative work.

Then motherhood brought a new chapter. After welcoming her first daughter in 2024, Brandy felt called to leave her teaching career and stay home with her growing family. She and her husband welcomed their second daughter earlier this year. “God called me to be home with her and now our 2nd daughter born earlier this year.” That transition also created an opportunity to bring together two interests that had followed her throughout her life. “I started Green Outdoors Studios to bring together my passions for the outdoors and for pottery.”

Bringing Wildlife to the Pottery Wheel

At the heart of Green Outdoors Studios is the connection between art and the outdoors. Brandy’s pottery features animals familiar to hunters, anglers, and wildlife enthusiasts. Her designs often rely on a minimalist approach, allowing the shape and movement of the animal to stand out against the surface of the pottery. Rather than covering each piece with elaborate scenery, she often treats the hand-thrown vessel as a blank canvas. Her signature style frequently features high-contrast black-and-white imagery, although she also experiments with stains and native, hand-dug clay to add emphasis and depth.

As her work evolves, Brandy is beginning to incorporate more movement and background elements into her designs, giving the wildlife she depicts a greater sense of place. The process requires more than artistic ability. Unlike painting on a flat canvas, working with rounded pottery presents its own challenges.

Brandy uses stencils to create much of her imagery. Some are handmade, while others are produced using a Cricut vinyl cutter. Positioning those designs on curved surfaces takes practice, particularly when the goal is to capture the recognizable shape and proportions of an animal. Before a piece reaches the pottery wheel, ideas often begin as sketches. Brandy approaches those drawings in two ways. Some focus on engineering new forms, allowing her to work through technical challenges involved in constructing a particular vessel. Others explore imagery and composition, including how to depict movement. That might mean finding a way to illustrate the motion of a gun firing or the action of two bucks fighting. Each design presents a different challenge, and the result is functional pottery that reflects both her artistic training and her firsthand knowledge of the outdoors.

A Family Tradition of Lucky Pictures

There’s another, more personal influence behind Brandy’s wildlife-inspired creations: a family tradition that began during a fishing trip to Canada. As a toddler, she drew a picture for her uncle after a day when no one in the family had managed to catch a fish. The drawing became known as a lucky picture. The following day, her uncle was the only person catching fish. When her father borrowed the drawing, the fishing luck appeared to follow him instead. What began as a childhood drawing became a lasting family tradition. “To this day, my dad never heads out without a lucky picture in his pocket. I want the same good luck to carry into each of my pieces.” For Brandy, the story adds another layer of meaning to her work. The animals and outdoor imagery decorating her pottery are more than artistic subjects. They’re connected to the memories and traditions that shaped her childhood.

The Work Behind Every Handmade Piece

Creating a finished piece of pottery is a multistep process that requires patience, technical knowledge, and careful attention to detail. Brandy begins by throwing the body of the piece on a potter’s wheel. Once the clay has dried enough to hold its shape, she attaches handles and adds decorative elements. The pottery then undergoes its first kiln firing, known as a bisque firing. During this stage, heat chemically transforms the clay, meaning it can no longer be rehydrated and recycled into workable clay. After the bisque firing, some pieces require additional design work before they’re glazed. She described glaze as essentially liquid glass that transforms when heated. The pottery then returns to the kiln for a second firing, known as the glaze firing. Once the piece has cooled, she completes the finishing work, using sandpaper or a Dremel tool to smooth any rough areas or imperfections that need attention. The finished product represents a combination of traditional ceramic techniques, modern design tools, and the individual craftsmanship that goes into each handmade piece. Each piece from Green Outdoors Studios is created in small batches, meaning no two collections are exactly alike. From subtle variations in color and glaze to differences in the finished designs, every batch brings something a little different. That individuality is part of the appeal of handmade pottery, giving customers pieces that reflect the craftsmanship and creativity behind the work rather than the uniformity of mass-produced products.

Why the Humble Coffee Mug Matters

Although Brandy creates a variety of pottery, mugs remain both her favorite pieces to make and her most popular products. For her, a mug represents something surprisingly personal. “People take pride in their mug. It is a way to say something about who you are to the world in a small way.” A mug featuring an elk, deer, or other wildlife design can reflect the interests and experiences of the person using it. For hunters and anglers, those small details can offer a reminder of time spent outdoors, even during an ordinary morning at home. “I love the idea that someone else who loves the outdoors gets a little joy starting their day with a mug I made.” Brandy also believes there’s something meaningful about using handmade dishes rather than mass-produced kitchenware. “I say quite often that food tastes better in handmade dishes because we are tactile people. You notice the ridges and bumps, the imperfections. You begin to savor your coffee more as you experience the mug.” It’s a perspective that fits naturally with the outdoor traditions that inspire her work. Just as hunting and fishing can create a deeper appreciation for the food on the table, handmade pottery encourages people to notice the objects they use to prepare and enjoy it.

Bringing the Harvest Back to the Family Table

Brandy’s connection to hunting and wild game processing is also influencing the direction of her business. While mugs remain a staple of Green Outdoors Studios, she’s developing additional functional kitchenware, including baking dishes. Among the pieces currently in progress are handmade casserole dishes featuring antler designs along the sides. She imagines those dishes being used to prepare and serve family recipes, particularly meals featuring wildgame. It’s a natural extension of the traditions she grew up with, when harvesting a deer was followed by family members gathering to process the meat.

Today, she hopes her pottery can become part of similar experiences in other homes. Her expansion isn’t limited to wildlife-themed kitchenware. Brandy has also begun developing a farming and homesteading collection featuring brighter patterns and farm animals. Additional products in development include soap dishes, kitchen organizers, bakeware, tissue boxes, and other functional pieces for the home. While the designs and product offerings continue to grow, the underlying goal remains the same: creating handmade items that connect the outdoors with everyday living.

Building a Business and Finding Community

Starting Green Outdoors Studios has given Brandy a way to continue pursuing her artistic interests while raising her two daughters. But one of the most meaningful parts of the experience has been the relationships she’s developed along the way. “The most rewarding part of starting my own small business has been connecting with other hunters and fishers, particularly women. I have made some wonderful friends throughout this journey.” Those connections reflect the shared interests that inspired her business in the first place. For Brandy pottery has become another way to participate in the outdoor community, connecting with people who appreciate wildlife, hunting traditions, and the stories behind handmade work. Her journey from childhood fishing trips and family deer camps to graduate school, university teaching, and entrepreneurship has brought together experiences that might otherwise seem unrelated. Today, they all have a place in her studio. Whether she’s creating a wildlife-inspired coffee mug or developing a new piece of kitchenware, Brandy continues to find ways to connect her love of art with the outdoor traditions that have been part of her life since childhood.

Where to Find Green Outdoors Studios

Readers interested in Green-Russell’s handmade pottery can explore her available pieces and upcoming collections at www.greenoutdoorsstudios.com.

She also shares new creations, works in progress, and updates from her studio on Facebook at Green Outdoors Studios and Instagram at @shegreenoutdoors.

Sponsored Content: This Small Business Spotlight was produced in paid partnership with Green Outdoors: Studios & Boutique LLC. Wild & Gathered maintains editorial independence in the development and presentation of sponsored features.