ARTIST'S STATEMENT
For many years my artist statement was the one line “I make pottery because I don’t have to wear panty hose”. That has changed over time, as many things do, to “I make pottery because I don’t have to wear Spanx”.
I don’t consider myself an artist. I am a potter. I make pots for the same reason that a shoemaker makes shoes. It is his job. I go into the studio and make what needs to be made, fire what needs to be fired, glaze what must be glazed.
Not long ago a friend asked me what I did for fun. Since she is a student of mine I was safe in assuming that she wanted to know what I did for fun in the studio. It took me about two weeks to come up with the answer. I throw for fun. I like to take a chunk of clay and make it into a pot. I don’t much like to trim or glaze or load kilns but I really like throwing. And I really, really like raku firing.
Physically challenging work appeals to me because I was a dancer for twenty years. A day doesn’t feel complete until I’ve pushed the limits a little and maybe have an ache somewhere that I fuss at in my head. The “sweaty” factor appeals to me. When I am finished working I am a mess – either covered in clay or glaze or smell like a troop of Girl Scouts just back from camping. After twenty-two years I am still madly in love with the entire process.
I make pottery because I am a potter.
