About My Pottery Making

When I can, I indulge in oil painting, but for many years I seem to have gravitated mostly towards clay and feel very comfortable with this work. I started in 1993 but I became more dedicated in 1999 when I got my first pottery wheel. Since then I’ve been building on my skills and my work is constantly evolving. I work with the wheel but also love hand building so those techniques are often combined. I'm always experimenting with different designs so my work is always unique.

I have a huge library of pottery books, videos and magazines and have learned, for the most part, from them and my own experimentation. I am mostly self-taught except for a couple beginning pottery classes, taken many years ago, and for the exception of a two day workshop taken with world renowned, Canadian pottery and writer, Robin Hopper . It was a fantastic opportunity that was extremely informative and enjoyable. He is such an interesting and funny man.

I make every piece from start to finish. Starting with a ball of clay and finishing by glazing and firing my own work. I make most of my own glazes, have used them for a decade and they have proven the test of time. I'm experimenting all the time and continue to work towards developing new glazes. Because all the work is done by me, I am assured the quality of each piece is maintained. My work is never cast, so not only is it strong and durable, but each piece is one-of-a-kind. I strive to make work that is timeless and can be enjoyed for generations to come. I have sold pieces to collectors across the United States and it warms my heart when I can see the excitement in a collector's face while they clutch their purchase safely against their chest as though to keep it safe. This is such a pleasure for me.

The Process

Each piece of pottery is handmade individually. I use several techniques some of which are extremely time consuming. The coiled, smoke fired and Sgraffito pieces would be examples of that. After the piece is formed it must dry. I slow dry all my work and attend to each piece as it dries to assure an even and slow drying time. This can take one to two weeks depending on how thick or large it is. When it's bone dry I bisque fire, which is the initial firing to a temperature around 1800 degrees. This takes about 9 hours and it gets the pottery ready to be glazed. Once glazed and dried it's fired once more at stoneware temperatures which reach well over 2000 degrees. This firing takes about 14 hours to fire and takes a day to cool down enough to take out of the kiln. Making pottery is definitely a time consuming, satisfying, labor of love. I hope you enjoy my work.