I have been a member of Potters Place since 2021 and have been making pottery since 2019. I work in biotechnology which is pretty much the opposite environment of Potters Place, so I love going to the studio and playing in the mud in my spare time. I also love to spend time outside, I am usually out running, biking, or walking my dog in the local state forest.

I was introduced to pottery through a family friend, Nan Hamilton who was the founder and owner of Mudville Pottery in Somerville, MA. I started classes there in 2019 and ended up taking a hiatus at the start of the pandemic. In 2021 I was thrilled to get into classes at Potters Place and I was even happier when I became a member. Working with my hands to create ceramic pieces, coupled with all the wonderful people I get to work along side is what draws me to ceramics. I also love the colors and glaze chemistry.

I am still trying to find “my style” with ceramics so I am still in the phase where I see something that I like on social media and try to replicate it. I have been using a lot of underglaze transfers and color glaze combinations lately.

I like throwing on the wheel to make bowls and mugs. My favorite part is trimming which is the second stage in making thrown pots after piece dries a bit. I like this stage because I get to use a variety of tools to shape the bottom of the pot into what I envisioned.

Centering clay on a wheel is definitely my greatest challenge…. I’ll let you know when I conquer it. Just kidding, well kind of. My teacher (Gay Calo) has been great in teaching me different methods for centering clay; what works for some people doesn’t work for everyone, so we just need to try and try different things until we get it right.

You cannot control everything, no matter how hard you strive for perfection and keep your expectations in check. I am getting better at the later but sometimes I am still horribly disappointed by what happens in the glaze kiln because I did not keep my expectations in check.

Mud

Center

Dry Hands

How many glaze combinations exist. It can be addictive to look at glaze combination share sites (internet or social media), there are so many combinations out there and when coupled with clay bodies the options are endless. I tend to like the flowy and polychromatic glazes