About the Artist

 I think I have always been a potter at heart Even after more than 30 years of working with clay, I still find it exciting to go into the studio every day. I’m still exploring and pushing the limits of what I can do and what the clay can be made to do and I love finding new things to make. 

For me working with clay is like doing a magic trick. I am both the magician and the delighted little kid who sees someone pull a quarter out of my ear. Every time I pick up a piece of clay and start rolling it around in my hands I feel excited. I really can’t explain what the attraction is for me. Maybe it is the smell of the damp earth that comes out of the clay bag when I open it or maybe it is how it feels in my hands while I’m shaping it. 

Growing up it never occurred to me that I could be an artist so I chose architecture as my career. It wasn't until my fourth year at Cal Poly in San Luis Obispo, CA that I discovered my passion to be an artist. We were to design an art department for a college campus and the more we researched art schools the more I knew that that was where I wanted to be. With a change of majors and a change of schools I earned my BFA in Ceramics from California College of Arts and Crafts (now CCA) studying with Viola Frey, who loosened me up after all those years with a triangle and T-square, and Art Nelson who nurtured my love of throwing.

After graduating I went to Crete, Greece to study Minoan art history and pottery. My two interests of architecture and art were blended so well that summer, it was a very special time for me. My love of the Mediterranean blues and bold colors came from my time on Crete and subsequent travels throughout Greece and they are still evident in the work I make today.

Eventually I settled in the small town of Philo, CA and opened up my studio/gallery, The Pot Shop, a re-purposed gas station on Highway128. It is there that I make all of my pottery on a kick wheel that I dearly love. I enjoy meeting people traveling through Anderson Valley who stop by my studio to watch me work and purchase what I’ve made. Visitors are always welcome!