I live in Medfield with my husband and two daughters. I started my pottery journey taking a few classes at Potter’s Place in 2014 and was hooked. The more I learned about pottery making, the more I discovered how much there is to learn.

The opportunity to become a member in the summer of 2020 has given me the freedom to further discover, express myself through clay. I strive to make beautiful, comfortable pieces for the home, the go-to coffee mug, favorite bowl or platter.

I have always been inspired by nature and find my projects are deeply influenced by the beauty that surrounds us. Whether gardening, hiking or biking, I am always taking note of the color, textures and patterns found in nature. As a result, I find that our natural surroundings are reflected in my pottery’s colors, shapes and textures.

My work is primarily wheel thrown with stoneware clay. I have developed my style through many classes, research, and practice. The result is functional artwork that is intended for daily use in the kitchen and home.

Transforming a lump of clay into a functional and decorative piece has become a passion.

One of the most rewarding parts of the creation process for me is to see a customer really admire a piece I’ve created – they are drawn to one of my pots and, for some reason that even they may not fully understand, it really speaks to them. For example, a customer at a craft fair stopped recently to admire a piece, left, and then came back because she had been thinking about one of my mugs and needed to give it a home. Seeing the joy the piece gave her was so gratifying for me.

I have learned that starting over is always an option.

The number of pieces I’ve created and had to throw away or recycle is staggering. Pottery has taught me that a wonky bowl or a cracked platter are not failures per se, but an essential component to learning. Through the failures we learn, progress, and try again, always pushing to succeed, to create the piece we imagined. Sometimes our perseverance pays off. Other times the best thing to do is smash up your clay creation and start over.

When I work with clay, I think of the words creative, organic and functional.

Throwing larger has always been difficult for me. Just centering a large piece of clay can be so difficult. And if it’s not centered properly, the pot will never be a success. But I’ve learned new techniques in the Throwing Large and Tall class at Potters Place. These new techniques for both centering and pulling up the walls of the pot has changed my approach. It feels great that I’m now able to throw both wider and taller pieces.

I am really pleased with this vase. My goal was to create a piece that was large enough to display branches from my yard. I tackled the challenge using techniques that were new to me and I was excited that it came out as I had envisioned. I hoped it would be really tall and not flop or crack.

Any potter will tell you that you can never count on what a pot will look like until it comes out of the glaze kiln. But with this vase, each stage of production worked as I hoped. The final height is 15 inches and I learned a lot in the process.