Up until now, Micah Thanhauser has shown his hand-turned, earth-toned pottery only at the artisans festival markets in West Tisbury, by appointment and through his website. But that will change this weekend when he opens his studio for the first time with a two-day holiday party and sale.

Mr. Thanhauser has transformed the front of his West Tisbury studio at 79 Merry Farm Road into a gallery, with plates, bowls, cups, vases, candle holders and incense burners displayed on shelves and clustered on tabletops. No two pieces are exactly alike, all of his food-safe pieces are made with minimal processing, and their colors come from the clay he uses.

“It’s just natural clay colors and the way they respond in the kiln,” he said. “All the materials have variations.” A clear glaze made from wood ash is the final layer.

Mr. Thanhauser grew up in West Tisbury before studying pottery at Brown University and the Rhode Island School of Design. He works with artisanal clay from North Carolina, where he studied the craft with Osaka-born master potter Akira Satake. He’s also experimenting with native Island clays, some of which he digs from the soil himself or gets from friends in the construction business.

Finding the right clay is the key to his creations. — Mark Alan Lovewell

“I’m definitely talking to everyone,” who might unearth a vein of clay that he could use, he said.

At his studio this week, Mr. Thanhauser reached into a bucket filled with clumps of cool, dark clay that glittered with mica.

“This one is exciting,” he said. “It was from a well that was being dug in West Tisbury.”

The odorless clay compressed easily in the hand, leaving a faint layer of shining powder. Organic material, decomposed into the soil, accounted for this particular clay’s dark hue, Mr. Thanhauser said, before turning to a melon-sized chunk of craggy yellow nearby.

“Another builder brought me this,” he said. “It’s not from Aquinnah, but people are probably going to think it is.”

Open house is Dec. 7 and 8 from 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. each day. — Mark Alan Lovewell

Mr. Thanhauser studies the properties of clays from different parts of the Island by firing and comparing small, minimally formed rectangles that come out of the kiln in a variety of colors. At this weekend’s open house he plans to share what he’s learned about the clays of Martha’s Vineyard. And as he establishes his presence as an Island potter, Mr. Thanhauser said he hopes to work with local restaurants as he has with Big King in Providence, a pan-Asian restaurant that uses his pottery.

“The chef took pottery classes at the place I used to teach and he really gets it,” he said.

Food and drink will also be part of this weekend’s holiday party, said Mr. Thanhauser, who plans to serve hot food from an outdoor grill and provide a tasting of Chinese teas.

“My mission right now is talking to different food people about what they like and what they need,” he said. “That’s the big push.”

Micah Thanhauser’s open house at 79 Merry Farm Road, West Tisbury is Dec. 7 and 8 from 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. each day. For more information, visit merryfarmpottery.com.