Getting started

I have wanted to start a blog for some time, but never really knew how, and in an effort to educate myself to the ways of twitter, instagram, and google, stumbled upon blogger.com. It's free and seems pretty easy...so far!

I guess I should start with some kind of background. I first touched clay during a visit to my sister in Florida back in 1992. She was taking a class at a local community college, turned me on to the clay, which told me what it wanted to be. (This wonderful piece is in a storage bin, waiting for the day I'm in a house again!)

When I got back to Queens, NY, I looked for and found some classes, first in handbuilding, then on the wheel. I studied at the Potter's Wheel in Kew Gardens for about 2 years, and then found Andrew Quient, who was on the north shore of Long Island then, in Glen Cove, and studied there for about 3 years until I moved (with my family) to Manchester, NH.

Manchester awaited me with a wonderful potting community, and the New Hampshire Institute of Art, where I got my Certificate in Ceramics in 2003. They have an incredibly wonderful Potter's Guild there, and I was an active member, chairing the Empty Bowls event in Manchester and editing the NHPG newsletter. 

In 2004, we moved to Virginia City, NV, to open our own business, where we could work and live at the same location. The building we bought had NO insulation, and needed a ton of work, so hubby Rich was always working it! Rich had a wind up phonograph museum, and I made pots in front of the public, which I loved. The business was open for 2 years, and sadly had to close. 

In 2010 I opened my own pottery school, as a way to pay for my clay habit. I'm housed inside of the Children's Museum of Northern Nevada, and love it there!! Recently, hubby Rich, with time on his hands as he wasn't restoring a building any longer, decided to come and play in the studio. He's making these incredible teapots, and we have decided to work together on some things. Last night I gave him a bunch of my plain, uncarved pottery for him to glaze. I always struggle with that, and everyone - students and strangers alike - love his glazes. The photo on this page is a shape I'd like to recreate, on a larger scale (with 10 lbs), for both carved and uncarved pots. 

I'll let you know how it goes!!