INSPIRATION

When I was a child, I lived in a neighborhood near two creeks: White Clay Creek and Red Clay Creek. During a middle school art class, our teacher, Mr. Adams, told us that we could actually harvest clay from these creeks. That afternoon, I took a large bucket down to the creek and scooped creek bottom into a bucket with my hands. Dragging it the one mile back to my house required setting it down every 50 feet. Once home, I processed the clay through scraps of screen and my mom’s sieves (Sorry Mom! I never told you!). I ended up with enough clay to make a tiny rabbit sculpture flecked with chips of mica. Brave Mr. Adams fired it for me. The magic of turning “creek bottom” into tangible things has never left me.

Artist and Instructor

I have split my time between my clay studio and instruction in clay. My enthusiasm and creativity are not just transferred to my sculpture, but to my students as well. When I teach ceramics, I strive to create an environment where my students catch my enthusiasm for the medium and its possibilities. Both children and adults, should not just gain skills and understanding about how to work with clay, but should at least during the class, get to feel the excitement of creating. At Sawtooth School for Visual Arts, I have taught developmentally challenged students, cancer survivors, brain injury survivors as well as professional artists and business people. I started a ceramics program at Industries for the Blind in Winston Salem teaching both adults and children with a variety of disabilities about how clay can open windows in the mind.

I credit good teachers in my past for my teaching skills. Lucky for me, my high school had an outstanding ceramics set up and I was given special access by dedicated, observant art teachers. Upon graduation I won the Rev. Alan Kraw Memorial Award in Ceramics. At the University of Delaware, I had the good fortune to learn ceramics under Victor Spinski. He gave me almost free reign and a private workspace in the university’s studio. I made my own clay recipes, conducted Raku firings, and spent every extra moment creating. I went on to get a Masters Degree in Elementary Education. My classroom was filled with creative opportunities for students. I came to Sawtooth School for Visual Art in Winston Salem in 2000 taking a variety of different classes. Ultimately, I gravitated toward just ceramics where I began teaching and sharing the magic in 2010. Around the same time, I started a ceramics program at Industries for the Blind in Winston Salem. These opportunities have put me wholly on the “mud path” I follow today.

Students create a “Seeing Eye Dog” or Guide Dog Sculpture from tile clay