While a good deal of my current work is thrown on a potter's wheel , my first love is hand-building. There is just something irresistible to me about the impression left on clay--whether intentional or incidental--that evokes a feeling of pliability and plasticity, long after the piece has been fired to a hard and durable state.
Slabs are the starting place for most of my current work. I nearly always stamp my slabs with bisqued stamps I've created myself, and then use those decorated slabs to charge one- and two-piece plaster molds. All work is high-fired to cone 10, both in my electric kiln at home and in one of the gas kilns at the Madison Potters' Guild. Stains, latex-resist and commercial decals add variety. While most of the work is functional, visual and tactile appeal are essential; it has to "feel right."