The making of pots thrown on a wheel has always fascinated me and I often wondered what it would be like to try this unique art form. About 12 or 13 years ago, my wonderful husband discovered a way for me to try throwing pots and this began my journey in the creation of pottery. He found a place where I could learn to throw pots without purchasing a wheel, a kiln, and all of the other equipment required. If it was something I really enjoyed, all of that equipment could be purchased at a later date. If it wasn't, we would not have a lot of money invested in something I didn't want to pursue. Unfortunately for our pocketbook, I immediately fell in love with throwing pots. It is a wonderful feeling to see a ball of clay become something unique on a pottery wheel. We began adding equipment a little at a time while I continued to take lessons and throw pots at the studio where I had taken my first steps in throwing.

As I was still employed as a full time teacher, I did not have the time to totally devote to this pursuit, but I did it as often as I could. Eventually, we converted the shed in the backyard (8' x 10') into a small pottery studio for me and I acquired a wheel, a slab roller and a very small kiln. This was my space until I retired from teaching in May, 2017.

We then moved to the land we had purchased and began the process of building a house. Pottery had to be put on hold until the house was complete, but once we moved into the house, our old living quarters in the barn became my new pottery studio. I now have a wonderful space that is climate controlled as well as an enclosed kiln room outside the back door with 2 good sized kilns.

It's my pottery heaven! I now mix glazes as well as throw pots. Because I have much more time to pursue my pottery addiction, I can try new techniques in both throwing and glazing. I started making agateware using 2 different colors of clay. Then I used stain to color the white clay and made agate ware with 3 colors of clay. I keep coming up with new ideas for both throwing and glazing, so I can keep exploring different aspects of making pots.