MY POTTERY JOURNEY

My journey with clay began in 2016 at Meredith College where I took an intro to ceramics course for my art general education credit. This class was super fun but I also learned ceramics was pretty difficult and would need much more time to perfect some of the techniques. At the time, this was just a class I was required to take and after passing the course, the thought of pottery ended. Fortunately for me, one of my good friends in graduate school discovered the NCSU Crafts Center and signed up to take an intro to wheel pottery class. I immediately followed suit and took the course as well. Re-learning wheel-thrown pottery was a blast and I enjoyed escaping the reality of graduate school with clay. The focus and deliberate control needed for pottery allowed me to escape my constant thoughts and frustrations of graduate research. Then 2020 happened....

​

Since the universities were closed for the pandemic, we were not able to use the pottery studio for more than 6 months. During this excruciating time, like many others, I realized how much certain hobbies meant to me. And that's when I decided to buy a used pottery wheel from Facebook Marketplace. Having a pottery wheel at my apartment really helped me focus on making more creative pieces like my elephant mugs and moon jars. After accumulating many of these handmade pieces and most of my friends and family already claiming my work, I decided to start selling my pottery. My first sale was in November of 2020 and it was a success! I sold more than 60% of my pots, most of which were small cylinders that I made in my intro to pottery class. 

​

I continue to do pottery because this form of art really fascinates me. I think it really bridges creativity with science and always keeps you in a state of anticipation until you pull your glazed pots out of the kiln. The possibilities are endless with ceramics and that's what makes it fun and keeps you far away from boredom. You will notice that while I do love making elephant mugs and candle jars, you will never find an identical piece and I would advise you to never expect that from me. I am on a path of exploration with ceramics and am thrilled to share unique pieces that spawned from creativity, stress, frustration, and joy. I hope that you enjoy them as much as I do (or much more than my perfectionist state of being).