RANDOM POTS

I communicate with most things as if they were alive. It seems I remember being cautioned not to anthropomorphize animals as a kid. Why not, I say? Why not treat all things equally in life? In looking at the definition of anthropomorphic, it says The ascription of human characteristics to things not human. I can't say that accurately describes my relationship with inanimate objects - but I do think of them as 'alive'. Sometimes when I'm handling vegetables I can feel their quality. I think everything has an energy. Value. When I am working with clay, it tells me what to do, rather than the other way around. I try to go into a form with an idea what it is to become, but more often than not, the clay has a slightly different idea. Sometimes I start with a ball of clay and it 'gives' on me. I say, "So you want to be something smaller? Okay.". I allow individuation when at all possible. When I am in control, the forms are often 'lifeless'...

Thus, Random Pots.

I have begun making grave markers and invite the bereaved to create as they desire.

I have a comfortable studio in what would be the dining room. My garden shed serves as my work space for mixing glazes and firing a mid-range stoneware clay in an electric kiln. Pieces are microwave and dishwasher safe. I have been working in clay since 1999 studying under the influence of many well-known ceramic artists, primarily through classes and workshops at Odyssey Studio in Asheville, North Carolina.