Throughout my childhood, I was always interested in art. When I went to college, I chose to study art and graduated with a BA in sculpture from Kansas State University. Soon after, I moved to California to further education in my newfound interest in functional pottery. I studied at UCSC with master potter Al Johnsen. He inspired me to make my living as a potter. The tradition taught by Al was that of good pottery form for everyday use. That functionality coincided with my approach to clay.

Creating my personal design in pottery was challenging at first, until I came up with a combination that worked well with all my training and my personality. I chose to use porcelain clay, because I thought of it as a white canvas for my brushwork designs. My brushwork designs come from my surroundings. Growing up in Kansas City, one of the first flowers that appeared in Spring was the Iris. The Iris was the first splash of color at the end of the Winter, which I have always admired. My recent inspiration has been the strawberry fields I live among on the Central Coast of California. The combination of the hand-thrown pots with my brushwork surface design results in each piece having a uniqueness. I like pottery as a career because of the lifestyle it offers. I chose to have my studio in my home and live along side the pots. The choreography between my life and the various stages of the pots’ life (throwing, finishing, glazing, firing) has been rewarding for the past 35 years of my career.