Pottery is a deeply interesting craft.

For ages people have been practicing it, and I too am drawn to see what I can create out of the soil.

It starts with simple earth, and after many laborious steps, that earth and labor is entrusted to fire.

When making a piece it almost always begins with a shape or form that emerges.  One at a time that image becomes a livelihood.  Prototypes take their turn at becoming the final form, and slowly point to the next finished piece.

I believe that the forms that arise for me are a combination of the long history of pottery through the many pieces that have left deep impressions on me as well as the environment where I was raised. 

When I see older pieces I feel the raw, natural element; and yet there is also a beautiful freshness and originality.  Older pieces tell the story of the people of that time who took the earth and shaped it to make a tool for their generation that would be useful as well as beautiful.

I was born into a family of potters and raised in an area very well known for its pottery.  When I was still a student I helped my father out making molds for mass-produced ceramics and to be frank it was daunting.  I don’t remember really be enamored with any part of that work, but I do remember being moved by the rows of pieces lined and ready to fire in the kiln.  Thinking back, even that process gave me a different perspective on ceramics that I am grateful for today.

Moving forward, I have high expectations for the new pieces that will be born from the layering of life experiences.  Someday, I hope to be able to see a piece that I made that has a patina from decades of joyful use.