Design patterns

I am a maker and mentor of all things clay.
Most potters working in stoneware produce cups, bowls, pitchers or vases with a certain similarity. Some mimic classic shapes while others masterfully produce stylized forms. A few make sculptural interpretations of functional pieces assembled in a style uniquely their own. I am one such person. My pots, constructed from slabs or using a pinch-strip method I developed, bear the look of burnished metal, tooled leather or whimsical china. My techniques makes building featherweight forms of many shapes and sizes a possibility. In addition, I address how what I am going to make will look before asking the question, what's it going to be - an approach quite out of the norm for most potters. My reasoning is quite simple - "Fashion designers don't envision clothing designs in drab muslin - they employ rich silk textures, tartans and tapestries when fashioning their creations. Why not do the same as a hand builder of clay? Why not let colorfully created engobe plaids or knobby textured clay surfaces have a say in what I end up making?" My signature pieces evolve from the stoneware 'fabrics' I create out of thinly rolled slabs enhanced with patterns, texture and color. It is my unorthodox methodologies coupled with classic hand building techniques - pinching, coiling, extruding - that attract students to my classes. Students who are seldom disappointed with the way their pots look when they retrieve them from the glaze firing, because the way they will end up looking is addressed from their inception!

CLAY BEADS have always been made in abundance. They were first painted in patterns similar to those used on pots or bowls. Making beads in clay is a skill which is easy to perfect; the clay material presents a design opportunity limited only by the imagination and expertise of the maker. The RATTLE is used in many cultures to celebrate individual beginnings; beginnings which connect us profoundly to ourselves. Rattles help us to ground. Their sound is magical & powerful and they are a treasure to behold when adorned with handmade clay beads, semi-precious stones or found objects. Terracotta beads, rattles and animal whistles dating back 6,000 years or so have been found in numerous ancient civilizations. The ease with which clay could be rolled, pinched, pierced and cut allowed these cultures to advance musically at a time when Europe was playing with simple flutes. Because of my explorations into clay rattles, whistles and beads, my classes & playshops have evolved from the functional to the fanciful, offering additional insights into clayful delights, what-ifs and learning to see. As a self proclaimed claysmith and maieutic, I act as a midwife in the birthing of all things CLAY - pots, beads, whistles and rattles - which speak not only of the maker but the user and the society where the art of clay is permitted to flourish.