Bio
Being a studio potter and ceramic teacher for over a decade gives me the opportunity to investigate utilitarian work. From the everyday challenges of making a set match in form, gesture, and glaze, to getting the kiln to fire off evenly, I strive to find out more. Using a light-reducing atmosphere and soda ash in the kiln enhances the surface of my porcelain and stoneware work. Contemplating and delivering more complex forms such as cream and sugar sets and cup and teapot sets are my recent fascination.
I started making ceramics in high school when my art teacher allowed me to work in the medium during my “free period.” I experimented with making coil pots and exercised my hand and brain at the potter’s wheel. I continued to make clay pieces at Hiram College, a small liberal arts school in northeastern Ohio. After receiving a Hite assistantship at U of L, I started my graduate studies under the direction of Ginny Marsh, where I was exposed to functional work.
Since then, I have maintained a studio of my own to produce one-of-a-kind ceramic pieces. I teach small, group classes at my studio. I have been an artist-in-residence at Bloom Elementary, Maryhurst school and Byck Elementary. I create work in conjunction with the Kentucky Museum of Art and Craft’s artist in residence programs, the Speed Museum’s Artsparks, and the Louisville Visual Art Association’s Open Doors program. Bringing my love of clay to the community has included Cedar Lake Enrichment Center where adults with disabilities have a chance to create art for themselves and to embellish their surroundings with clay portraiture on the wall.
I believe that art is not always an artifact viewed in a museum but a cherished part of our everyday lives. Putting the quality of life over the convenience of the drive thru; I know the difference by having ceramic art in my life and home. The utilitarian pots I design are intended to exist and be used in the kitchen, home and the domestic surroundings of life.