While in high school ceramics in Rhode Island, I found myself

fascinated with clay. I was fortunate to have a great teacher (Judy Speyer).

Judy encouraged me to pursue clay in college. While at Skidmore College

(1979-83), I was a Fine Arts major with a concentration in Ceramics. This

brought me to a Masters program at Boston University’s Program in

Artisanry. After a successful thesis graduate show (1986), my direction

changed, and I went to work in my family’s building-supply business.

Fast forward to 2014. After a 28-year absence from working in clay, I

then reconnected to it at a small studio called Joy Pottery (in Bryan, Texas).

Ever since then, bringing back my past to the present has been a wonderful

experiment. While at Joy Pottery, I honed my production pottery skills, and

soon found myself making water-sealed fermentation crocks. These crocks

are used to make fermented food at home, such as sauerkraut and pickles.

I still make these today.

I relocated back to the Northeast in 2018. This was the year I was

awarded a Fellowship at Salem Art Works (in Salem, New York). While

there, I was introduced to wood-fired ceramics. I find the process of wood

firing quite exhilarating. There are many days of constant stocking (feeding

wood) to the firebox done in shifts. The flame and ash from the wood hug

the clay works as they travel through the kiln. Then they exit through the

chimney, making it breathe like a mythical dragon. The effects of this flow

can be seen on the ceramic work as wonderful patterns.

I am currently working at Launch Space in Orange, Massachusetts. I

do all my production there, as well as teach. I fire my work at various

wood-fired kilns in upstate New York, New Hampshire, and Connecticut.