Phone Number: 216-346-4510
I was first exposed to working with clay in college. I went to Notre Dame College and they had two ceramics courses. By the time I finished those, they had created a third course, and I was the ONLY student!
I tried working on a wheel of course, but because of my physical limitations (fused leg, cartilage disease, arthritis), it was too painful. I couldn’t get the hang of staying bent over a wheel for any length of time. I almost gave up.
Once the teacher started us on hand building I was hooked after that first pinch pot!
One of our projects was to create our own dinnerware. I created triangle shapes out of Styrofoam, and made a plate, bowl, and mug. In the annual art show put on by the college, I won a special award sponsored by a local ceramics company for my dinnerware design.
At first it was difficult for me to let myself go and be creative. A retired Macintosh Engineer with NASA, I am more of a left-brained analytical person and it was hard for me to get past that when I started working in the art field.
I also have an affinity for painting, especially fantastical creatures. I painted a large dragon spread across two walls of my son’s bedroom, and of course, could not then NOT do something similar for my daughter! She got a two-walled painting of a unicorn. I had to make these drawings appear flat, even though they were spread over two walls.
I’ve had my own kiln in the garage in three houses. This became especially important when we were all locked down during COVID. Mostly I use store-bought glazes as just do not have the room to store chemicals, since I converted a bedroom into my studio. Do love to mix and match though. Plus, of course, paint designs onto the pots or tiles.
I now also have an 11 year old art student who comes over once per week, and sometimes we play in clay, but have been known to paint exciting landscapes as well. She loves Bob Ross and even WAS Bob for Halloween last year!