“I do ceramics. A big, important part of my work is that it is functional. For no other reason other than that, I don’t have a lot of space in my house. I like things to have a use. It’s really fun for me to be able to use my pieces every day, and honestly, they just sell a lot better too.
I focus on flashy colors, and elegant forms. I have a rule of thirds that I focus on. I like there to be an edge at the lip of the mug, another edge at the top of the body, and a matching one at the foot. People tend to be attracted to groups of three, so I subtly put that in there and focus on the elegance and functionality of a piece.
I went to a ceramics workshop hosted by Matthew Schiemann Pottery, Eric Botbyl, and Todd Pletcher Pottery, and they had a workshop called ‘Handle with Care.’ They have three very different styles, but they all focus on elegance and functionality. So it was cool for me to go to a workshop that had all three potters that I love, all together in the same place, and really talk about their whole process, focusing on how to make a beautiful but also very functional handle. So that was really cool. And then just kind of taking their styles and the things they were teaching in the workshop, applying that to my own work. Doing Arts on the Millrace after that workshop, I saw my number of sales and how much people appreciated my pieces go way up.
One of my favorite things about being an artist here in Goshen comes out when I’m being a teacher. I teach drawing, printmaking, ceramics, ceramics being my favorite class. It is so much fun for me to focus on local artists instead of just talking about artists that live in other countries, different time periods, and stuff like that. It’s cool to be able to say, ‘Hey, you can go down to the Old Bag Factory. You can look at Goertzen Pottery’s work. You can go online and see Dick Lehman‘s. You can see these artists that live here in Goshen, and their full-time job is to make pottery.’
And then just being a part of that community. I haven’t in a couple of years because I have been busy teaching and working at Goshen Brewing Company, but doing the wood firings is a phenomenal process to be a part of here in Goshen. You’re staying up for six hours in the middle of the night, just sitting by a fire, eating, hanging out with other local artists. It’s just a strong community that I don’t think you would get in many other places.”
