Most of my work is thrown on the potter's wheel using porcelain or very white stoneware, and then it is trimmed. Next, my unique designs are carved into the surface of the piece and on most edges and sometimes the foot of the form. My pieces maybe stacked and are connected as greenware or in the glaze firing depending on the form.

 

      The process of cutting all the way through the clay is called reticulation. Sometimes the carved-out areas, the negative space, become as important as the design left which is the positive space. I’m a past university Design I & II and Art Appreciation Instructor for many years, so I consider the balance, focal points, pattern, color, and design I choose as to how it relates to each form. All my designs are my own, and none of my pieces are mold-made. They have been fired to cone six in an electric kiln and are food and dishwasher safe. The mother-of-pearl sheen on some of the work is called a luster and is an extra firing process.

 

     My handbuilt sculptures may have started out as a thrown vase then had clay added to them to form the leaves and extra designs. Some are cut from very thin slabs of clay to resemble mushrooms, fungus, coral, leaves, and flowers; attached together; puffed into to swell the form; and attached to an internally supported base. If any of my pieces look similar, there are subtle differences that make my work and life more interesting.

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      I look forward to hearing from you and shipping your new treasure to you!