About Me
I’m a full-time potter originally from Baltimore and now living on the scenic Eastern Shore of Maryland. I work out of my home studio in Berlin, Maryland.
I’ve been working in clay for more than three decades, and for many of those years was a partner in Wild Yam Pottery, a small cooperative studio and gallery in Baltimore. After a lifetime of juggling my passion for ceramics with full-time work and raising a family, I am now fully dedicated to my studio practice.
I sell my work mostly in person at a local farmers’ market in the historic town of Berlin, and at several regional craft shows. I also take custom orders by request. I enjoy meeting my customers in person and knowing where a piece is headed when it goes out into the world.
I believe handmade pottery creates a connection between the maker and the user, and love knowing that something made by my hands will be part of someone’s home, daily rituals, and gatherings of family and friends. I hope each piece brings beauty and coziness to its new home.
My Process & Materials
The majority of my work is thrown on the potter’s wheel, although I also enjoy hand building. After a piece is thrown, it needs to dry for several days, depending on the weather and humidity. Once a pot is dry enough to handle without distorting it – known as the “leather hard” stage – I trim the base, sign the piece, and load it into the kiln for the first (bisque) firing.
The following day after the bisque firing has cooled, I wax the bottom of each piece to prevent it from sticking to the kiln shelf during firing. I then apply glaze – usually by dipping the pot into the glaze or pouring the glaze over the surface. I allow the pots to dry again before the second firing, this time at a higher temperature. This second firing causes the glaze to melt and fuse with the clay, and for the clay to become fully hardened, or vitrified. The entire process of making each piece takes place over several weeks.
I work with two different stoneware clay bodies, which react differently in combination with the glazes, which I mix in my studio. I fire to cone 5 (2170 degrees F) in an electric kiln.