Education naturally flows from the classes we attend and the books we read. But often, impactful life lessons also come from our favorite activities.

That’s certainly true for Decorah nurse and artist Jen Nahl. For example, yoga teaches her to find stillness in a noisy world. Trail running challenges her to stay curious and push past what’s comfortable. And thanks to pottery, she’s gotten less attached to outcomes and more comfortable embracing trial and error.

“Working with clay is not a fast process. Everything happens in stages, and it takes time and patience,” Jen says.

Through Rara Avis Pottery (her studio name means “rare bird” in Latin), Jen crafts pretty, practical pieces embellished with positive messages and details drawn from nature. She first experimented with pottery as a child, working with the mud she’d dig up on her family’s farm near Calmar. In high school, Jen signed up for every art class available. In college, though, she studied to become a registered nurse. She has now worked at WinnMed in Decorah, most recently in home health and hospice care, for more than 15 years. Along the way, Jen became a mom, too, having the first three of her four children early in her career.

Over time, creating with clay took a backseat to the business of daily life.

“But I’ve always had that love and passion for art, and specifically pottery,” she says. “I knew, even as a teenager, that someday I would make this happen.”

Eventually, while reflecting on her high school art classes, Jen made a list of the basics she’d need to establish a home studio. She found a pottery wheel first. Later, she and one of her children took a road trip to pick up a kiln she’d spotted online. Jen slowly set up her workspace and established an artistic routine, with occasional pauses for life transitions.

“The times that I was away from pottery, I’d find myself thinking about the things I’d love to create. I have journals with all these little sketches. Some of them I have made now, but there are always millions of ideas floating around,” she says.

One of the times Jen briefly pulled back from art was when she decided to add a Bachelor of Science to her nursing qualifications. But each time she sat down to tackle homework, her mind gravitated toward her studio. The more she thought about it, the more she realized that she wasn’t interested in moving into health care management.

“I love working hands-on with my patients. The idea of going to college for another couple of years to get an extra couple of letters behind my name was not what I wanted,” Jen says.

She decided to drop those courses and apply for the Northeast Iowa Artists’ Studio Tour, which had long been a personal goal. When she was in her early 20s, Jen would get the annual tour map in the mail and circle all the participating potters. She’d visit each studio, paying special attention to the artists’ spaces, styles of work, and finished pieces.

Jen has now been a tour artist on and off since 2015.

“Certain patrons come back year after year, and I love that,” she says. “It made me feel like an actual artist, at that point when people started showing up here saying, ‘We picked your spot to come to first,’ or ‘We come here every year.’”

The process of preparing for those early studio tour events also helped Jen view her pottery as more than a hobby. While she wasn’t looking to leave her nursing career, she wanted to be more intentional about her creative projects. Tour participation provided a reason to refine her style and the elements that distinguish her designs.

Today, Jen makes handmade and wheel-thrown pieces that are both artistic and functional. She crafts simple jewelry trays, textured dinnerware, stoneware planters, and other items intended for daily use. Some of her pottery is finished in bold, bright jewel tones. Other times, she chooses calming, earthy colors.

Nature themes thread through her work. Jen adorns serving bowls with hand-carved lines that reflect the rolling hills of the Driftless Region. She presses leaves into wet clay as she makes planters. Her leaf-shaped tiles are cupped just enough to hold a few drops of essential oil, doubling as tiny diffusers and home décor.

Birds and feathers are another favorite focus. After all, Jen named her business Rara Avis for her love of birds.

“If I’m out on a walk or a run and I spot a feather out of the corner of my eye, I will stop and pick it up and stick it in my pocket or in my hat. I have a collection of feathers in a jar in my studio,” she says.

When she makes one of her small-scale birdbaths, Jen sculpts pint-size clay birds to perch on the rim. She’ll sometimes etch motivational or meditative quotes into those plate-sized pieces, too. Her favorite birdbath features a pair of birds that she envisions as a mother and baby. Carved feathers and the words, “What if I fall? Oh, but my darling, what if you fly?” swirl around the bowl.

“Anybody can relate to that at some place or another in life,” Jen says. “All of us need that extra boost of encouragement once in a while.”

The encouraging phrases and poetry that Jen adds to her pieces get carved or stamped by hand before the clay is fully dry. That human, handcrafted touch appealed to Katie Kollasch of Sissa, a Decorah shop and community gathering space. She first connected with Jen on social media and later purchased pottery inscribed with a meditation mantra.

“Jen is genuine and intentional. Her art is not there to be showy. It’s not mass production. She’s really using her emotions and feelings and experiences – and her connection with this region itself – in her pottery,” Katie says.

Sara Davis, a Guttenberg-based artist, got to know Jen after the two participated in the annual Art in the Park festival in nearby Elkader. Sara, who organizes Guttenberg’s summer Makers and Music event, invited Jen to be a featured artist.

“I love that she uses quotes that inspire us to be our best selves or see beyond just what’s in front of us,” Sara says. “When you look at her work, and when you hold her work, it has a sense of depth to it that I just love.”

Each time Jen finishes a piece, she likes to imagine who might ultimately pick it up and call it their own.

“I hope they feel like that piece is meant for them,” she says. “Whether they’re sipping coffee from one of the mugs or sitting and watching the birds in one of the bird feeders, I hope it brings some inspiration or comfort.”

She remembers one client who requested a custom birdbath for a friend who had recently lost her father. As a hospice nurse, Jen recognized the significance of bringing light to someone’s life during a difficult time.

“I don’t do many custom pieces because of the time limitations that I have. But it just felt right to make this one,” she says.

Pottery adds light and positivity to her own life, too. Jen is inspired by the process of creating art from lumps of earthen clay, and she finds the physical practice to be very grounding.

“I’ll sit at the wheel and time just dissolves. It’s a way to therapeutically unwind and let go of things that you don’t have control over,” she says.

Jen doesn’t always have a plan when she goes into the studio. She doesn’t use molds or measurements as she creates. She has learned to simply trust the process.

“There are so many things that art teaches you. If you’re just open to listening for them, the answers are there,” she says.

See More of Jen’s Work

 Step into Jen Nahl’s Rara Avis Pottery studio during the 2026 Northeast Iowa Artists’ Studio Tour (details below). You can also view her work on:

• Instagram: @raraavispottery
• Facebook: www.facebook.com/raraavispottery
• Etsy: www.etsy.com/shop/RaraAvisPottery

MEET 30+ NORTHEAST IOWA ARTISTS

The 29th annual Northeast Iowa Artists’ Studio Tour takes place October 9, 10, and 11, 2026. Participating artists open their workspaces to visitors between 10 am and 5 pm each day of the event. All studios are located within a 40-mile radius of Decorah.

Members of the public can tour studios, ask questions, and view projects in various stages of completion. More than 30 accomplished painters, woodworkers, weavers, jewelers, sculptors, ceramicists, and other artists will welcome guests during the self-guided event.

Visit www.iowaarttour.com to download a tour map and information on this year’s participants.