My studio, in the woods, is a quiet place, where I develop ideas, make mistakes, find solutions, and create art that fuses the natural world around me with an aesthetic developed over years of living rurally, hiking, backpacking, kayaking, and exploring. Focusing on functional ceramics from a belief that finely handcrafted utilitarian wares enhance our lives, my work reflects my time spent outdoors and in a peaceful, semi-rural location.
The meditative quality of wheel work is a foundation for my functional production. Making a series of similar pieces at the beginning of a work cycle settles my thinking and sets a pace for production. While each piece requires attention, the rhythm of work is soothing. Hand-built pieces, requiring greater individual focus, tend to be more unique, reflecting textures and forms borrowed from the world around me.
After 30 years of working with electric kilns in my studio, and wood firing in community kilns, I spent the pandemic year building a gas-fired soda/salt kiln, bringing a new dimension of expression to my practice. I love the possibilities of future synthesis of three different processes: electric, wood, and soda/salt.