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About me




My wife, Teri, and I live in Weddington, NC (near Charlotte).   We have a dog, Holly, a St. Bernard, who is a good and generally patient companion.   Her capacity for shedding (the fur bunnies are truly remarkable) is an ongoing incentive to keep a cleaner and more healthful studio.  She reminds me when it is time to take a walk, have a snack and allow space for new ideas to arise.    Now if I could just get her to offer better design advice....
How I got into pottery
I first became involved in pottery in 1992 while working at Holden Village, a Christian retreat center in the North Cascade mountains of Washington state. While I had participated in other creative activities such as music and photography, clay quickly became a passion and joy for me.  After moving a couple years later to Phoenix, AZ, I was very fortunate to participate in a large pottery club.    This group of fellow ceramic enthusiasts became an important community for me.   They offered friendship, encouragement, inspiration and opportunity to really immerse myself in exploring the ceramic arts.    Working and playing in clay together, elbow to elbow, was a truly formative experience for which I will always be grateful.  I began with them as a novice and in time became a teacher but throughout, I was mentored and encouraged by this community of generous and enthusiastic potters.
While in Phoenix, I was also fortunate to study ceramics with David Bradley for several years.   David’s ease and skill with clay helped move my own work forward.   Through his mentoring, I began to work from a more relational perspective.   Clay has a dynamic quality to it, especially when on the potter’s wheel.  The more I can feel and pay attention to the clay’s capabilities and responsiveness to me, the more I can bring forth from it.  
My life and work today
In 2005 I moved to NC to marry my sweetheart Teri (we met through eHarmony!).  She is a constant source of support and inspiration for my creative work.  Teri has a real appreciation of beauty (she has an art history background) which I find to be a helpful guide as I explore new forms.  She helps me see my work with fresher eyes.
I participate in numerous shows and juried events, and I continue to teach.  Much of my pottery is made or begins on the potter’s wheel, and I work in electric fired stoneware. Teaching is a source of pleasure and inspiration in my work.  I enjoy helping others in their process of discovery in their work with clay. It also helps to stretch my boundaries in developing my work and my skills as a potter.
Pottery as metaphor
Some of my work is formed by combining more than one color of clay on the wheel, creating flowing patterns of light and dark.  This has been a meaningful metaphor.  Their interplay came to represent my personal experience of times of light and darkness.  I have experienced significant joy and beauty from having come through difficult times and circumstances.   The “light and the dark” together, have contributed to the richness of my life as they have been transformed by God’s love and grace.
The creative process of this craft has been a means for spiritual growth.   I have found it to be a relevant and fruitful metaphor for thinking about God’s activity in my life.  I have been privileged to share these themes at various retreats and communities of faith.