“When I begin a session in my studio, the process of remembering and dreaming begins. My pots are formed with a steady approach to the ideal and the unexpected—they are part memory, part hope. My good ideas and clever intentions are no match for the exceptional pot that just seems to happen. Each pot emerges from a combination of intense focus, forgetting, letting go, and just doing.
I have found that there is redemption in repetition. The first pot in a series can sometimes be the best. Other times it may be the last one. Sometimes it is only after the firing that a pot’s subtle qualities emerge. The kiln leads the way to the next generation of pots to be made. It is there at the kiln that my search begins again. “
...and even farther back... from the 2004 solo show ”A Natural Response” at Ferrin Gallery, Lenox, MA
“Despite the many tangents that lead me this way and that in the course of making pottery, the ideas, desires and excitement of clay remain very close to those at the very beginning of my career. To be sure, the outcome of experience and effort, trial and error has evolved through the years. But the process still begins with the simple, ecstatic response to a ball of soft clay. The successful pot elicits a similar response in the context of the home. The mountains of North Carolina provide plenty of inspiration with their wildly exuberant flora, geological variety and the pottery history that sprang from these geological circumstances. Strong pottery form and patterns that evoke the complexity of this natural environment continue to guide my interests in this current body of work. By some combination of optimism and risk, my collaboration with the natural properties of clay and wood fire continues to lead me through this potter’s life, at times exasperated and at others, exhilarated.”
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