When I first sat at a potter's wheel back in the 1980's, I felt like I was remembering how to throw clay rather than learning it. My hands knew what to do and within a few months, I was selling pottery at the local farmer's market. For several years I did the craft fair circuit but no matter how much I loved clay, I was forced to admit that as a single woman working as a potter, earning an adequate income was just too much work, and I became a nurse instead. Now, twenty years later, like so many other baby-boomer ClayArtists, I'm back. In the summer of 2002, I became the proud owner of a 7 cu. ft. electric kiln. Unfortunately, the hectic routine of my life doesn't allow me to fill it as often as I wish.

Since my studio is small and I don't have room for many chemicals, I spent 9 months working with and perfecting a combination of glazes that use just one of the glossy bases from Mastering Cone 6 Glazes. That book has become my glaze bible. Five chemicals with a few oxides make a wonderful 3 glaze combination that I call Seafoam. I'm delighted with the combination and find myself using it on just about everything I make. Many thanks to Ron and John.

Living in northern California where electricty is 19.2 cent per kilowatt hour, efficiency of kiln use is important. I've tried to develop shapes that use all the space in my kiln. These salt and pepper shakers are about 2 inches at the base and pinched together at the top. They fit nicely in the little spaces left between larger items. The cruet is wide at the base and narrow at the top so it is just right for snugging into that triangle of wasted space that results when several bowls are fired on one shelf. 

The folks at the right are members of an extended family called the Dimple People. The whole clan have dimples in their chins. The guy on the far right works as my kiln guardian. The tall fellow in the middle lives in the garden and keeps things in order out there. The little lady lives in the house and often has flowers coming out of her head. They have family members in various parts of the country.

In a desire to use the glaze room and its chemicals to do a zillion glaze tests, I have taken several ceramic classes at the local junior college. My photo at the top of this web page was taken at school. One class assignment was to make a teapot that at first glance did not look like a teapot. This I Love You teapot was the result. The "I" is the handle and the "U" is the spout.