224-545-0181
knoxpots@aol.com
Though I was born in Louisville, KY, I spent most of my growing up years in the Chicago suburbs. My art education was through the public school system where I earned C's. Not my best subject. So I danced. I danced in the school productions and even became the choreographer my Senior year though I secretly would have preferred to be a cheerleader.
College brought more dancing and no art. Then I ran into some high school friends, one of which was a folk singer and that was that. We married, had 3 boys and I made macrame hangers with the rest of the suburban "hippies." I also baked bread, made my own granola, picked cherries in Wisconsin to make jam and wine, and drove car pool.
All that led back to my love of pottery and desire for a set of mugs. I didn't have enough money to buy them, so I borrowed from the "teach a man to fish" philosophy, and took a pottery class. I was more than hooked. I was also fortunate to have a wonderful brand new Junior College in my area with a fabulous teacher (Tony Holmes) who brought all aspects of clay to his students and allowed us more "hands on" experiences than most programs. And now I had pots to put in the macrame hangers!
Most potters love hardware stores and found objects. They are texture and design. Two of my favorites are a hand crocheted lace doily I bought from a lady at a show in Wisconsin almost 20 years ago. She had no idea how I was going to use it when she asked if I wanted it in white or ecru. I chose ecru. The other is the floor mat that came out of my 1974 Turquoise blue Subaru station wagon. I use the back side of the floor mat on many of my handled pieces.
I have chosen to make functional pieces as I guess I am just practical that way. Good food deserves to be served at the table in beautiful pottery. I like the clean and elegant lines found in Japanese and Danish pottery and strive to maintain that simplicity in the glazing process.
I make pottery because I love the process as much as the results. Opening a kiln is like Christmas morning as one can never be sure exactly how things went in there. There is always a surprise or two, some greeted with smiles and some not. Either way, I know I'll keep trying ....I'm just too curious to stop.