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My Inspiration:
10 acres
On a dirt road
In a dry county.
I have been a potter for 30 years. I grew up in
Reidsville, North Carolina, earned my degree in Art at UNC-Greensboro,
then studied with Charles Counts in Rising Fawn, GA. Since that time I
have lived in WV, serving as an artist-in-residence for Greenbrier County,
and in Fredericksburg, VA, where I taught for the Stafford County schools
and maintained a pottery shop in the downtown historic district. In 1988 I
moved to Florida where I met my husband, John Richards. Together we owned
and operated the Temple of Great Art, No Spitting in St. Augustine. In
2003 we moved to Burnsville, NC where we established the Yummy Mud Puddle
studios and vacation house. To live in a community where there are so many
professional artists and craftspeople is wonderful. Not to mention being
so close to Penland School of Crafts and all it has to offer.
My work took a dramatic turn when Tracy Dotson of Penland built my first gas reduction kiln. When firing in my electric kiln I relied heavily upon the use of colored slips and layering of glazes in order to get the depth of color I wanted in my work. Now I find I can use those same techniques in addition to the flame of the fire to achieve even greater color variation in my surfaces. A black wax line drawn onto the bisque fired pots just before glazing adds definition. A variety of clay bodies allows me to have both a warm and cool palette of pots.
The majority of my work is intended for everyday use. The glazes are food safe, durable, dishwasher and microwave safe.
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