My first piece of pottery came from my grandmother’s cabinet – an old chipped little pitcher with painted flowers on the side.   I loved how the piece felt in my hands, and the fact that something with such a simple beauty could also be so useful. 

My first experience making my own ceramics started when I took a coil building workshop while living in Japan (the ashtray I made in 4th grade doesn’t count, though it does speak for the time) and I found myself reaching for the same feeling – could I make something beautiful that someone would want to use?  It was a rough piece, but I loved that with care and time I could shape something both useful and satisfying to look at. 

It wasn’t until 2020 that I was able to take my first pottery class, and I consumed myself with learning the fundamentals of wheel throwing.  I took weekly classes, used every available minute of studio time to practice, and began teaching at the same studio.  Without really planning for it, I’d found the thing that I could lose time doing.  I found a shared studio space and I started expanding my knowledge, throwing new forms, seeing what it was like to make sets, making my own glazes, firing my own kilns, taking commissions to challenge myself.  In late 2022, I formed my business, and in early 2023, I started the process of creating my own studio, which I completed later that year. As I refined my skills, I also started to narrow my focus and shift towards making finer art pieces.

Whether I’m making functional pieces for the table or crafting fine art pieces for design projects and home décor, I appreciate simple, clean lines and repetitive forms, and I enjoy experimenting with new ways to achieve that consistently. Negative space plays an important role in most of my work, as well as playing with textures and the use or absence of glazes to highlight the unique aspects of each form.  

My past functional work has included developing a line of pieces for entertaining - tableware, serving platters, and beverage service, though the majority of my current functional pieces reflect my love for nature and the garden, with floral textures and images, and planters, vases, and garden items such as plant stakes and ceramic bells.

My current work explores the relationship between the natural elements – earth, air, fire, and water –and seeks to find the balance among them by taking classic wheelthrown forms through a raku firing process that combines glaze, live fire, oxygen and reduction chambers and a cold water plunge. The varying relationship of these elements is what brings life to each unique piece.

I received my BA in English Literature from Middlebury College in Vermont with double minors in Economics and Art History and completed my Honors Degree coursework in English at the University of Edinburgh, Scotland.  When I’m not working with clay, I enjoy spending time with my husband Steve and our rescue German Shepherd Dog Ceilidh.  I love the water, and many mornings you can find me at the beach watching the sunrise and getting in a swim in Lake Michigan.