Artist's Statement

My mother had played on the wheel a bit in her high school years, and when she would tell about kicking the potter's wheel, her eyes would sparkle. She would stand one foot as the other one kicked rhythmically in the air and it was enough to make any child giggle. I grew up with a few of her pieces sprinkled around the house. To me they were just permanent fixtures to avoid knocking over when I reached in the glass-front bookcase for a volume of the 1959 World Book Encyclopedia. After her death, when Daddy needed more care and I had to "break up the household," I found stashes of her creations in the attic. I had to clean off the coal dust that had sifted down into the boxes from where they had been packed away before that in her mother's basement. She was good! Perfectly round and very thin coil-built pieces: lime greens, bright oranges - no doubt the glazes were chocked with lead. I guess in the 1930's, a woman making pottery wouldn't have been taken very seriously. I now understand what a marvelous natural ability she possessed that was never really allowed to blossom.

I never considered myself particularly gifted as an artist. When I say "gifted," I mean to differentiate that concept from "skilled." That is, I have never felt like I was born into this world knowing how to create in clay; I just loved the feel of the medium and continued to work at it until I developed some level of competency. Even those of us who don't consider ourselves "gifted" artists can enjoy the process of creation and gain an even greater respect for those who are truly graced with such a natural endowment.

I worked exclusively in Raku for 15 years. I adored the involvement in the firing process, and the excitement in the uncertain results. Now, I am more interested achieving the bright colors that one gets most successfully with low-fired ware fired in an electric kiln. The process is much easier on the lungs and, hopefully, the environment. I like to throw simple, classical forms to use as a vehicle for my busy surfaces. My designs stem mainly from doodles and playful brushstrokes but sometimes my background in Botany will sneek in. For the most part, I paint on greenware and once-fire, which saves energy. Each piece is produced with a loving reverence for the creative process.

My work does not attempt to make a social statement or to stretch the boundaries of what we think of as art; art isn't required to search for the meaning of the cosmos. My pieces are intended purely for the amusement of the visual sense, not necessarily for the intellect. Beauty gives our souls a little refreshment so we can get on with the more mundane tasks of life.

Other fun facts.
B.S. in Biology
M.B.A.
Tap dancer.
Works at Virginia Space Grant Consortium as Program Specialist and grant writer.