Artist Statement


I make pots because it gives me pleasure to make them, to use them, and to see others use them. My favorite kind of pot is a mug. They are small and intimate. You hold one in your hands, feeling it's heft, shape, texture and bring it to your lips to drink. It quickly becomes an old friend. I keep a collection in the cupboard and enjoy picking one out for coffee or tea. My favorite changes day to day because each has a unique personality.

While the surface color and texture of a finished pot is very important, when I'm throwing pots on the wheel or adding handles, spouts, lids, I focus on its shape and form. Is it well proportioned? Is the handle too big? Is it bottom heavy? Will it pour without dribbling? Often a pot is most beautiful just after it is finished, before it is "bone dry". The "leather-hard" pot has a crispness and springy life that gradually diminishes as it dries, is coated in glaze, and fired. Yet the firing can transform an unpromising pot into a great one. The parts of a pot are like the human figure: lip, mouth, neck, belly, foot.

Skin. The glaze fits like skin or clothing. Sometimes it's barely there at all, like a thin clear glaze over porcelain. A thick, opaque matte glaze is like an overcoat.

I rarely use more than one glaze on a pot because it usually looks artificial and detracts from the wholeness of the pot. I prefer understatement; after living with a pot for a while you appreciate its subtleties.