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I started working in pottery in search of instant gratification. After spending over 37 years in aviation – creating and designing the airports and air traffic control systems of the future – I needed more immediate stimulation than waiting 10-15 years to see the benefits of your labor. I needed a recreational outlet. What better than rearranging mud into functional pots and decorative vessels. What started as a class at a recreation center turned into a fascinating journey in texture, shape, and creation. It didn’t take long to be infected by the “mud bug.” Where else can one start with a lump of dirt and in minutes throw a perfect pot – working in ceramics is mud rearranged.

Ceramics is three-dimensional art that begs to be touched. The tactile sense that ceramics brings to art stimulates more of the human senses. Have you ever thought about why you have a favorite coffee mug? What unique property gives it a special place in all the other dishes you use? For a ceramic artist, there is nothing more satisfying than having your work touched day after day. Many may not view a coffee mug as art, but art’s purpose is to stimulate the senses, communicate a message, create closeness between the viewer and the art itself. Next time you pick up that coffee cup remember that ceramics does all of that and more.

I look at art as being the idea and craft is the execution of that idea. Great paintings stand the test of time because of the great craft involved in mixing paints, color selection, application with the brush and understanding perspective. It is the craftsmanship that provides the longevity of the great idea. Potshards and decoration on pots go back to the time of cave wall painting. Pots unearthed today are considered art. The long and rich history of ceramics forms the basis for much of my work; especially work I fire in the old traditional ways of Korea and Japan.

In ceramics, it is more than just the object itself; it is also the negative space – the volume of that mug, the space between the handle and the cup, the lift of the foot that elevates the mug above the table. This negative space is a fascination to me. I am learning to see what is not there.

I work in rich earth tones of greens, browns, the colors of fall, blue water and sky because ceramics come from the earth. A walk in the woods reveals new textures for surface treatment. Lines in bark, the ridges on shells, how rocks are stacked, or the ripples in the sand at the edge of a stream all evoke opportunities for new ideas in ceramics. Working in ceramics is a journey of discovery. My journey includes both the traditional functional pottery for every day use as well as vessels that allow the exploration of negative space and the color and texture visible around us.

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