I initially started making small potters' clay animals in 1996 as creative relief from the rest of my life. I kept some, gave some as gifts, and then realized I had a marketable product and an opportunity to be involved in a type of work that I find stimulating, interesting, and very enjoyable. As a tactile person I am very drawn to the way of clay.

All of my pieces are individually handcrafted. I add mason's stains, ilmenite, and other colorants to achieve different hues and use a variety of clay bodies in pursuit of gradations of color and texture.

At first glance my clay animals often seem simply whimsical, however, on closer inspection one can see the care and intention with which they are shaped. Sometimes it seems as if the clay has a mind of its own and I am just the willing hands. I fire my pieces with other local potters in a walk-in gas kiln at the Brattleboro Clayworks where I have studio and sales space. The variable flame patterns in the kiln add a unique finishing touch. No two pieces are ever identical.

My claywork is an expression of “joie de vivre" and connection with the natural world. It is meant to touch a place deep within. It comes from the bottom of my heart as
an offering.