About

Clay has been in my life since studying ceramics in college, but after getting graduate degrees in social work and non-profit management/urban planning I pursued a career in community service in New York City and San Francisco until my two children were born. Even while doing that work, I always worked with clay on the side—working in private studios as well as annual workshops in New Mexico studying with Native American potters. My community development work exposed me to many different cultures, neighborhoods and ways of life and really helped to hone my observation skills which I use regularly to influence and inform my clay design work. After my kids were born, I worked doing more sculptural work combining my love of collecting found and vintage objects and clay. After eating in a restaurant that used handmade plates, I felt motivated to move my work to a more functional place. But I wanted to bridge the concept of a “work of art” with something completely useable—and there was born creating one of a kind handmade tableware. 

Everything inspires me. I am constantly taking note of colors in nature, food, magazines, newspapers, fashion, street art and graffiti and love seeing colors put together unexpectedly. Travel has been a big influence on my work as it heightens observation skills and offers opportunities to experience things in new ways. I have traveled extensively to Mexico, Central and South America, infusing my vision with the collecting of folk art, perusing ancient indigenous sites and wonderful age old traditions of pottery. I also spend a lot of time in the American Southwest where the tradition of pottery and combining function and design has survived thousands of years and has greatly inspired my approach to clay. I take lots of photos when I travel. They could be of color combinations, or scenarios that are juxtaposed in a way to either amuse or encourage further observation. I like to think about my plates as little tableaus to capture these recorded and observed images. Also, just living in an urban environment, I get to travel a little bit each day to new neighborhoods with new people, sights, smells and images. I bank these images which often wind up on a plate. I have always been a collector—flea markets, the beach, the woods, the street, second hand shops, the desert—basically I am always on alert to pick up an object anywhere. The vintage objects I use a lot include broken off pieces from old tourist toys that one may have purchased early in the 20th century in Mexico: an old plaster bird or just an arm from a doll. I love to use old figurines. I also use a lot of found natural objects—textured branches, pods, berries, bones...I’ll press anything into a piece of clay.

I really make my work to be used, not just displayed or admired. The plates can inspire and tell a story so they are evocative in the traditional “art” sense—but are completely functional. I also love the notion of high-end craft and taking time to carefully make everyday items. It is the way things used to be made—by hand and with great care and craft. It encourages an appreciation of the everyday.

STUDIOS: SAN FRANCISCO AND ABIQUIU

I have been making my work out of a 100ft studio that is a former chicken coop behind our 19th-century Victorian dairy farmhouse in the middle of San Francisco. Our small family compound here also houses several other clay work spaces as well as my showroom/office.

In addition, I have a second studio now open in Abiquiu, New Mexico right behind the historic Bodes General Store. I have spent a lot of time in northern New Mexico since the mid 1980’s and it has remained in my soul and bones. I am excited to have another studio there to explore how that landscape and history will influence new work.

Visitors are always welcome in both locations by appointment.