We are thrilled to announce our collaboration with Amy Lancaster, the master artist behind Oak Knoll Pottery. Together, we have embarked on a monumental task: creating a custom ceramic vessel for hundreds of rivers in our collection.
We named this the Sidi Bombay & York Collection—a series of unique River Navigator Vessels that honor the legendary, often unsung guides who mapped the world’s great waterways. Sidi Bombay was the legendary guide essential to finding the source of the Nile, while York was the powerhouse naturalist and oarsman who navigated the Missouri and Columbia rivers during the first crossing of North America.
The story of River Mixer didn’t begin at the pottery wheel; it began on the riverbank a decade ago. We started collecting river water 10 years ago, driven by a simple desire to preserve the liquid history of the world’s most vital arteries.
Our first sample was the Mekong River, and for years, it sat on a shelf in a simple, utilitarian water bottle. As the collection grew to hundreds of rivers, our methods evolved. We transitioned to brown, opaque science bottles with handwritten tags—functional for an archive, but lacking the soul and presence that these mighty rivers deserved. We realized that if these rivers were to tell their stories in museums and schools, the “look” of the collection needed to match the weight of its significance.
This realization led us to Oak Knoll Pottery in 2024, marking the start of a two-year journey to create a vessel worthy of the water it holds.
Amy’s journey into ceramics began in 2013. Originally from North Carolina, she spent many years along the Eastern Coast before opening her public studio in Stafford, Texas. There, she translates her love for nature into every piece she throws on the wheel.
The process is a communal one; as these vessels are crafted, her students look on. “As I’ve been making them and firing them, my students are watching and checking on the progress also,” Amy shares. “They think they are beautiful”.
Amy’s work is defined by how she layers glazes to capture movement and depth. To truly understand the collection, one must see the transformation that happens within the kiln.
The Mekong River Vessel—our very first river and the cornerstone of our archive—is a perfect example. In its final fire, the glaze turns clay ripples into rushing water, with deep cerulean and mossy greens that mirror the Mekong’s journey through the heart of Southeast Asia.
Creating the vessels for our global archive within a small-batch studio is a feat of mathematical foresight. While the water samples—from the Congo to the Mekong—remain securely within our collection, the vessels are designed and crafted in Amy’s Stafford studio. Because each vessel is engineered to house a specific, pre-existing sealed bottle, Amy must master the volatile nature of her medium without the physical sample ever entering her workspace.
To ensure the final piece functions as a permanent protective casing for the archive, the process requires the precision of an engineer. High-fire clay can shrink by up to 15%, meaning Amy must calculate the wet dimensions so that, after being subjected to temperatures exceeding 2000°F, the internal foundation remains perfectly compatible with the bottles in our collection. Once the firing is complete, the vessels leave the studio to be united with the river samples at our location, completing the installation.
A defining feature of these vessels is the foundation. To represent flowing water, Amy deliberately drips the glaze down the sides of the vessel, allowing it to find its own path. This technique naturally leaves the bottom 1/5 of each vessel textured and unglazed. This rough, raw finish is a physical representation of river sand and the sediment that forms the bed of every waterway.
The internal structure is just as meaningful. Each piece contains three hand-carved pedestals that serve as the foundation for the sealed bottle of river water. These pedestals represent the three pillars of a healthy waterway: Origin, Current, and Legacy. While the water is preserved within its secure bottle to prevent evaporation, the ceramic lid features a deliberate opening. This hole allows the unique resonance and spirit of the river to interact with the room, ensuring its presence is felt throughout the space.
This collection is a testament to the “slow craft” movement and a lifelong commitment to the water. Because Amy runs a busy studio and teaches popular classes, we are dedicated to completing 20 vessels per year. While our current registry tracks hundreds of rivers, our mission is to eventually archive them all.
With the first 20 finally finished and out of the kiln, our ultimate goal is to showcase the Sidi Bombay & York Collection at museums and schools to educate the public on our planet’s river systems, eventually serving as the foundation for the River Mixer Museum.
For curators and collectors of scientific art, the Sidi Bombay & York Collection represents a rare intersection of geographic data and ceramic mastery. Each River Navigator Vessel is not merely a piece of pottery, but a physical accession of a global waterway. The intentional engineering—from the three-pillar internal suspension to the resonance vent in the lid—ensures that the river is both preserved and present.
If you’re in the Stafford area, stop by to see where the magic happens. Oak Knoll Pottery serves the Houston, Stafford, and Missouri City communities with wheel throwing, handbuilding, classes, and memberships.
Location: 13000 Murphy Rd, Suite 104, Stafford, TX 77477
Website: Oak Knoll Pottery Studio
Instagram: @oakknollpottery
Phone: 281-969-5970
Email: OakKnollPottery@gmail.com
Ultimately, the Sidi Bombay & York Collection serves as a silent witness to the vital, yet fragile, arteries of our planet. Just as Amy Lancaster carefully engineers each vessel to protect the water within, we must recognize our role as modern navigators responsible for the health of the world’s river systems. By archiving these hundreds of waterways, we are not just preserving a sample of liquid history; we are issuing a call to action to protect the sediment, the flow, and the lifeblood of the landscapes they sustain. Every drop held within these vessels is a reminder that the legacy of our rivers depends entirely on the current of our conservation efforts today.
The Sidi Bombay & York Collection is a series of hand-thrown ceramic River Navigator Vessels created by artist Amy Lancaster. These vessels are designed to house and honor water samples from the world’s major river systems, bridging the gap between scientific archiving and fine art.
The collection is named after two legendary historical guides: Sidi Bombay, an essential guide in the search for the source of the Nile, and York, a naturalist and skilled oarsman who was instrumental in the first transcontinental crossing of North America via the Missouri and Columbia rivers.
To prevent evaporation and ensure long-term preservation, the river water is kept in a sealed bottle inside the ceramic jar. The jar features an internal foundation of three hand-carved pedestals—representing Origin, Current, and Legacy—to support the bottle.
While the water is sealed, the ceramic lid includes a deliberate opening. This resonance vent is designed to allow the “spirit” and unique presence of the river to interact with the room, ensuring the vessel acts as a living piece of the archive rather than just a closed container.
Amy uses a specialized layering technique with glazes to mimic the depth and movement of rushing water. Additionally, the bottom fifth of each vessel is left unglazed and textured to represent the raw sand and sediment found on a riverbed.
This blog post uses publicly available information from various sources, synthesized with the help of AI, as a starting point for exploring the world of rivers. Our editors review the content for accuracy, though we encourage readers to verify information intended for primary source use. We strive to use public domain, licensed, or AI-generated images; due to the nature of online sharing, individual image sources are generally not credited. Please contact us regarding any copyright concerns.
We collect water solely from flowing freshwater sources such as rivers, named bayous, streams, creeks, and brooks. Historically significant man-made freshwater canals, like the Erie Canal, may also be included. In exceptional cases, we may consider non-freshwater waterways like the culturally significant Bosporus Strait.
The water we collect isn’t meant for consumption. It becomes part of our treasured collection, a source of inspiration and unique keepsakes.
We’d love to hear from you! Here’s how to get started:
Become a Member: Fill out the membership form on our website.
Tell Us About Yourself: After submitting the form, send us an email to share more about yourself and your reasons for wanting to be part of River Mixer.
Review Collection Guidelines: While you wait to hear back, take a look at our collection guidelines to ensure any river water you plan to submit meets our requirements.
Submit Your River Water (Optional): If you have river water you’d like to contribute, briefly describe it in your email, including the location and name (if applicable). We’ll let you know if it’s a good fit for the collection.
Each river contributes just 500 ml (16 oz) [or less] of its story to our collection, ensuring a unique representation of waterways around the world. We limit our collections to a single sampling trip per river.
To ensure the authenticity and provenance of our river water, we employ a multi-step verification process. This includes video and photographic documentation of collection sites, coupled with GPS location tracking. Additionally, we collaborate exclusively with thoroughly vetted members and volunteers who represent the River Mixer during water collection.
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