Heath DeWallace presses his index finger into a spinning mound of clay, shapes a bowl small enough to hold a handful of pennies, then scrapes it off the wheel with a business card and sets it on an overturned crate. A hand-lettered sign reads: "Free for kids."
The wheel beneath the clay is no ordinary kick wheel. It's a thrift-store stationary bike rigged with yellow and blue handlebar streamers, a floral basket, and a pottery head that spins when DeWallace pedals. He brings the contraption to the St. Johns Farmers Market every Saturday, where passersby stop to watch and ask questions.
DeWallace runs Fishbone Pottery out of a garage studio in St. Johns. The miniature bowls he gives away at the market are air-dry craft clay. Back in the garage, he throws food-safe pieces: succulent-sized planters and saucers fit for teacups, which he sells at fairs and markets across Portland.
DeWallace found the stationary bike at a thrift store in 2021 and spent roughly two years trying to turn it into a traveling pottery wheel. After hitting dead ends, he brought the problem to an engineer friend. The friend's advice was blunt: "Just use a drill bit. You're not building a car." A drill bit connected the pedal mechanism to the wheel head, and the pedal-powered pottery bike was born.
His next project: converting a trundle sewing machine into a pottery wheel.
Where to find Fishbone Pottery
The St. Johns Farmers Market runs every Saturday, 9 a.m. to 2 p.m., through November 21, 2026, at the corner of North Charleston Avenue and North Central Street. The market is managed by St. Johns Center for Opportunity. DeWallace also sells at other Portland fairs and markets.
Upcoming Portland community events
- Elbow Room Garage Sale: Sunday, July 26. Old-Fashioned Garage Gallery, 2406 NE 12th Ave. 10 a.m.–3 p.m. Free. Artists with intellectual and developmental disabilities show multimedia work.
- Pickathon: Thursday, July 30, through Sunday, August 2. Pendarvis Farm, Happy Valley. $215+, all ages.
- PDX Pop Now!: Friday, August 7, through Sunday, August 9. Midtown Beer Garden, 431 SW Harvey Milk St. Free, all ages. Volunteer-run local music festival.
