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Aberrant Ceramics is the artwork of Aaron Nosheny,
potter and ceramic artist based in Tucson, Arizona. Self-taught and neurodivergent, he has worked in the medium of stoneware clay since 2004, developing a practice rooted in literal construction and obsessive repetition. He makes non-traditional ceramics in a medium built on tradition, exploring the overlap between wonder and revulsion. Subject matter includes sympathetic monsters, insects, opossums, fast food mascots, and Halloween kitsch.

I am in love with my medium. I love the process of frantically birthing clay monstrosities, subjecting them to an epic trial by fire, and sending them out into the world.

Wednesday, November 16, 2011

Ustilagor Sculpture

11/16/11

My ceramic sculptural reinterpretation of the Ustilagor D&D Monster. One of many in a long series of D&D fan art creations.

The ustilagor is a Dungeons & Dragons monster originally published in the first edition Monster Manual II. It was a psionic fungoid creature shaped like a human brain. The original concept had neither eyes, mouth, nor mouthparts (see below).

As of 2026, I still have this piece. Contact me if you'd like to own it.

Ceramic Ustilagor D&D brain fungus monster sculpture by aberrant ceramics

Ceramic Ustilagor D&D brain fungus monster sculpture by aberrant ceramics
Ceramic Ustilagor D&D brain fungus monster sculpture by aberrant ceramics


The original illustration of the ustilagor. Note lack of facial features, but what fun is a crawling brain without eyes and an orifice? It also had limbs with which to scurry across a dungeon floor, but I decided that, if I did try to provide it with limbs, they would probably be damaged during the firing process.

Ustilagor illustration from TSR AD&D Monster Manual II


Later editions of D&D reimagined the ustilagor as a larval form of the intellect devourer, a dog-sized human brain on four legs which, yes, did its best to make you stupider.

Intellect Devourer D&D Monster