About

Amanda Ogle is the owner/artisan behind The Pottery Whale and has recently started her pottery journey. Amanda lives in Santee, California, with her husband Brandon, two children, two dogs, two cats, and a beloved chameleon. Brandon and Amanda met in Las Vegas, NV, while working for a hospitality company. They fell in love, married, and eventually moved to San Diego County with their children to put down some roots and begin the best part of their lives together. Their family of four is their pride and joy, and they have built a tight-knit little family. 

Amanda's son is currently attending college, and her daughter is getting ready to enter high school. Together, Amanda and Brandon have shared entrepreneurial dreams while attempting to balance the roles of parents and full-time employees. 

The four enjoy heavy doses of sarcasm, inappropriate jokes, and deep discussions about society and how they can work to be better people. 

Brandon and Amanda were raised and loved by highly creative people, from woodwork to silversmithing, painting to quilting, custom upholstery to leatherwork, and even writing! Undoubtedly, creative expression has been passed down as a family tradition and a form of self-care. 

Amanda has pursued many creative endeavors over the years but always kept one just out of reach. That one elusive practice was pottery. She feared that she would try this art form and either be horrible at it or realize that she hated it. Knowing that once she tried it, she would quickly want to expand and purchase all of the equipment, and like other endeavors - she was afraid it would be another burned-out hobby.

In May of 2022, while working for public health, Amanda decided to find a way to process the trauma and stress of working through the COVID-19 pandemic. The work was the most important thing she had ever been part of, and she gave it everything she had at the expense of her mental health. In June that year, Amanda signed up for a five-week ceramics course at a local community pottery studio. Soon after, she purchased a wheel and started throwing pots in a small home studio. 

Amanda quickly realized that pottery was missing in her creative journey and wished she had started it years ago. Decades of struggling with perfectionism and imposter syndrome were undone with a simple ball of clay and a wheel. Nonetheless, the timing of everything works out as it should - and this journey came at the perfect time for her. 

The one creative outlet that she was so afraid to try happened to be the one that healed her. Now she focuses on the process and the textures and allows herself to create freely without worrying about perfection or what other people want her to produce. The clay is temperamental yet forgiving at the same time in a symbiotic dance that reflects her journey to understanding herself and what matters most in life. 

She hopes that you enjoy this space and find some encouragement to embrace imperfection in your creative journeys.