I have a passion for making functional pottery.  It makes my life whole to create pots to use every day as well as those I might only want to look at.  I love the challenge of making something as generic as a cup because it can represent my interests in art, its history, science, and the context of use.  I love that despite everything that goes into making a cup it really comes down to whether you want to use it or not.  Some cups are so successful that I reach for them every time I open the cabinet and only if they aren’t there will I choose another cup as an alternative.  Some are wonderful to look at, the image speaks to me or the shape is seductive but in the context of use, usage is the lesser part of the pleasure.  My pots are very personal things and I am gratified to think someone else has one of my pots because they developed a personal relationship with it too.  Many of my vases are not meant for bountiful bouquets of flowers.  They ask for only a few because they need to work with the vase.  My plates will often compete with the food.  One of my most respected colleagues once asked me in a critique whether, in fact, I actually liked to cook and eat!  The challenge for me is to create pots that continue to grow and change their visual identity as I change my relationship with the clay itself.  Whether successful or not, the thing that keeps me interested in making functional forms is the opportunity to keep rethinking what I know and value about working with clay.
I have worked as a K-12 art teacher, college professor, full time studio potter, and now chair the art department at Westtown School while teaching clay to 6th-12th graders but the one constant in my life has been working with clay and my family thinks that this is what keeps me sane!