08/31/2026
The chemist who became The Persian Potter — and fired her life story into clay.
This 18" high-fired studio charger is one of my favorite Firuse Stalcup finds. Purchased at the Sedona Arts Center in 2006 and signed by the artist, it has that perfect contrast she was known for: a smooth interior with layered glazes in shades of blue and tan, and a grainy, unglazed rim decorated with her delicate sgraffito leaf carving.
Firuse Stalcup (1945-2019) was extraordinary. A native of Iran who grew up in a prominent family before relocating to Austria, she was fluent in five languages and earned her master's in chemical engineering from the Polytechnic University in Vienna. A position with the Atomic Energy Commission brought her to the US and Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution, where she met and married colleague Marvel Stalcup.
While raising six children in Falmouth she founded the Little Red Schoolhouse, then later blossomed as an artist in Sedona — building a handmade adobe brick home with her husband, complete with a huge art studio. She called on her chemistry expertise to develop unique glazes and became beloved in Sedona as The Persian Potter, working in a variety of ceramic forms.
A true scientist, mother, chef, gardener, and maker. This charger holds all of that.
