I began actively working as a ceramic artist in 1972 and remain continually fascinated with the process. To be able to take the very structure of our planet and create objects of beauty and utility is nothing short of miraculous to me. Using the basic components of our physical world–earth, air, fire, water–in my daily work makes me grateful for the opportunity to explore and enrich my talents in such a profoundly basic way.

Living here in the rich earth of mining country, in the mountains of Western Montana, allows me to use native materials in my work. I make my own clay from a volcanic tuff and glaze from an ever expanding selection of granite, rhyolite, and others gathered in the hills around my studio. This connection to the land not only deepens my interaction with my environment but also broadens the process of my art-making from conception to finish. Although I don’t limit my work to local materials, I find that aspect of my work particularly fulfilling.

Because I studied painting and design in college, much of my work takes a painterly approach in surface treatment. My mountain environment is a continuous source of inspiration, from waking to dreams. As an artist working in clay, I create in a broad range. From making coffee mugs and dinnerware one day to interpreting my world through sculpted objects the next, I find that the process gives me wide parameters for turning thoughts into form. I put the same spirit and care into whatever I’m making, be it utilitarian or decorative. Ultimately, I believe that my life is the art I am always creating.