Potter, Artist, Teacher

My passion for clay is a full-time obsession.  As well as being a studio potter for the past twenty-five years I have also been instructing children and adults in wheel-throwing and hand-building techniques.  I earned a Bachelor of Fine Art in ceramics, summa cum laude, from Central Missouri State University, in 1999.  At CMSU I was the studio manager learning to fire and maintain gas and electric kilns.  As as result of my extensive experience in school and professional firings, I now have a side business doing kiln repair. In 2010 I completed a kiln repair school at Skutt manufacturing in Portland, Oregon. I have accumulated experience in virtually every type of kiln firing and post-firing processes. I love the earth and spend much time studying it; as an amateur geologist, I enjoying digging my own clay and leading workshops in clay prospecting, recycling, and primitive firing methods. For over twenty years I have demonstrated my clay skills at numerous workshops, art fairs, public/private schools, and other special events.

I have been exhibiting my clay work in art galleries and art shows for over two and a half decades. I enjoy selling my pottery at fine art fairs and my booth won first place in the ceramics category at the 2006 48th Annual Art in the Park, here in Columbia, Missouri. I really enjoy meeting the people who purchase and use my pots! The moment a person purchases one of my pots, I am able to share my passion for the clay and convey to them that my secret ingredient to the process is LOVE.

I believe that art is essential to our human existence and clay is one of the oldest art mediums in proof of it. Art enhances our present life, preserves our past culture, and instructs us toward the future. My belief in the importance of art has led me to serve the local community as an arts advocate. I have served as a member of the Columbia Art League and Missouri Symphony board of directors, as well as having served on the Missouri Arts Council as a grant reader. Currently I am a member of the Potter's Council of America and American Potter's.com.