I have expressed myself, visually, for as long as I can remember. As a child I taught myself to draw by studying and drawing hundreds of pictures of birds in a family book. When other people were in the high school plays on stage, I had painted the backdrops and scenery.

Studying art in college, it was painting and printmaking. But afterward, strolling down a street one day near where I had taken a job, I read the flyers posted for pottery classes at the Craft Alliance in
University City, Missouri. I loved clay from the moment I touched it. I took easily to wheel-throwing and hand building and my mind seemed to explode into the 3-dimensional possibilities of forming with this simple earth ingredient.

Although I went on to study clay with a handful of wonderful teachers, my most exacting teacher has been nature, herself, and sitting at my wheel and learning from the work. My ceramic arts now spring from a love of creating new forms inspired by organic shapes, colors and textures. The shape of each vessel is very important to me —it has to have a beautiful balance, an emotional expression, and to
be functional, while being intriguing to look at when not in use. While I am not mimicking particular forms I cherish on daily nature walks, the bulbous, fertile forms inspire what I create. I hope that my work brings lasting joy to others.