Creating with clay
In a life filled with wonderful moments as teacher, outdoor enthusiast, veterinarian, pathologist, busy mom, and science advisor, imagine my surprise when I began working with clay after retirement and could not let go. Wheel-thrown high fire porcelain is at the core of what I do with soda and wood fire kilns adding to the magic. Stoneware and earthenware pieces have their own personality and breathtaking forces of nature are released with raku, horse hair, and pit fires. I continue to explore ceramics in all forms.
verde river pottery
Since the beginning of Verde River Pottery, all of the rocks that provide the forms for vases and sculptures, wood that is used for handles and decoration, and sand that is embedded in some of the pieces, are collected by the artist along the Verde River in Clarkdale, or from the artist’s home.
This interesting pattern in the sand is created by the wings of a hawk as it descended upon, and spirited away its prey. The glorious precision of these predators leaves no trace of talons in the sand.
verde river pottery Sustainability
Sustainability is a priority. Trimmings from pottery and slip produced while throwing is repurposed into clay that is thrown into new forms. Rinse-water is allowed to settle. The clay that accumulates at the bottom of rinse buckets is added to the repurposed clay - the water can then be reused.
Pieces are shipped with the utmost care. Packing peanuts used for shipping are made from starch and dissolve in water.