Firebird Studios

My Background

My career umbrella has included health promotion, volunteerism and mental health counseling – all focused on creatively fostering human potential. Although I’ve left those careers behind, my core values of adventure and creativity continue to guide my work, now as a clay artist. I delight in taking raw material and crafting something beautiful and functional. Although I do not have a formal education in ceramics, I've learned technical skills through many classes, self-study, experimentation and practice, practice, practice. My experiences with wood carving, painting and jewelry-making also play a part in developing my pieces. Cherished day-to-day experiences in the natural world have taught me much, and so I think of what I do as “giving back” to nature. 

Getting down and dirty with mud is my medium!  Most of my work is wheel-thrown with lots of textural features and fine details, often with a garden/nature theme. Throwing on the wheel is meditative and soothing.  I enjoy the slick feel of wet clay moving through my hands and the pleasure of visualizing the final piece.  In the ceramics world it is said that clay has memory, but I also think it has dreams - so sometimes the result is not what I imagined - it seems to be what the clay wanted itself to be (or not).  The process challenges me to put my own creative mark on the clay's designs.  The result is, we play together.