I have always been a poor potter, thrown into the “craft” side of the medium due to limited access and the high cost of capital. I fell in love with art and clay as a child, and after a childhood with a few clay exposures, I made the decision to get my BFA in Ceramics in college. After graduation, I struggled. I had no kiln and my wheel was an ancient kick wheel that I had no space for in my tiny apartment. In 2012, my brother gave me the best holiday present; 6 weeks of classes at a pottery studio. In April 2013 I started making again. Those early fan art pieces, made as gifts for friends, paved the style that would build the niche of the pixie potter I am today. I spent every spare second in the studio. Pieces began to sell, and I knew that I had not made a mistake choosing art, I just hadn’t been supplied with the road map or the economy to do it.

In 2015, I came back from a life-changing trip to Nicaragua with Potters for Peace. The Nica potters had such creativity and so few modern ceramic tools, they inspired me. I resumed chasing my dream of being an artist and a potter.

I worked part-time at anything I could find. I slowly built my garage studio and business. I dug into the Geek chic style and made any commission I was asked. I made my own tools when I couldn’t get them, and I learned how to reclaim clay until it was my favorite clay body. I taught lessons to anyone who wanted me to teach. When my secondhand kiln broke down, I learned how to fix it. I was a DIY geeky potter. I did this through 3 moves and the pandemic. Every time something would make me feel like it was too much, something would encourage me, and I would keep going.

At the end of 2021, I thought my fight was done, the elements in my kiln were out and we were moving again. I packed up my studio one more time and in January 2022, on a whim, I sent my application to New Mexico Clay. In late February 2022, I got a call. I was to emerge as a potter again and this time with access to information, supplies, and a discount, as a full-time sales associate of ceramic goods.

Along the way, I’ve begun teaching new lessons about access and resources to share along with hand-building and throwing on the wheel. Often, I try to share resources with the young entrepreneurs or give encouragement and job options to the mother who’s buying the gift certificate with fear in her voice over the passion of her child. My favorite customers are those on a budget and a heart full of clay, with those I share the reasonably priced shortcuts and I refuse to be elitist about a temperature or a process. I challenge those who say “I am not an artist,” and those that spit the term “crafter” with the venom of the patriarchy.

The ability to create in clay has a high cost both financial and informational, not to mention the access to tools and materials. This is not new, which is why I theorize potters have always been a more social type of artist. Especially as the resources become limited and the economy changes, it pays to keep in mind that our most honored potters are part artists, teachers, and engineers.  I believe that bringing more people into our clay traditions means more answers. I think that knowledge, a curious spirit, and a creative mindset can be found in sharing knowledge and craft instead of hoarding it. I hand this knowledge out, often through my own story, to encourage others.

While this is my teaching statement, my theme is still geeky, and my style is still that of a cottage-core millennial.  My pieces are stories born out of sculpture that often have a function so that they may join their owner on their journey of life. These pieces splash and clink joyfully when you are happy, or collect tears when you are sad. They are artwork to carry with you and to be a spot of whimsy or a reminder of courage to deal with this often troublesome world.

My materials also tell my story, I’m a “Jack of All Trades” in the ceramic medium. Given my resources, I have often had to be creative and therefore, I use the material that best suits the end piece. I’m a whiz with commercial glaze pints, having given up dipping long ago due to price. I unabashedly combine brands to create beautifully layered combos. I often feel like an artificer, searching for just the right component to make the piece come to life.

You see, I believe that stories are the most powerful teaching method, as well as our biggest source of encouragement and inspiration. I believe we need stories of substance and hope to get us through this global change, and that the easiest story to digest is a myth or a fairytale, told to entertain and to teach. That’s why my work sometimes references pop culture stories or looks like it was plucked out of a fairy tale. These stories told through media are the modern-day myths that teach our generation’s morality tales. My goal is to pluck them from the words and turn them into sculptures that you can hold and see.