"I have been slinging mud around since kindergarten, but I have only gotten paid to do it the last 30 years!" I started out as a high school English teacher who had a "revelation with clay" shortly after graduating from a New Hampshire college in 1972. It was the 70's and handcrafts were all part of that "get back to nature" movement. Art was already a major part of my life as I dabbled into all sorts of expressive media - from painting to textiles and glass, I tried it all. With a few craft center classes and lots of reading and practice, I became primarily a self-taught potter. When the family increased, I needed to be at home and the craft show circuit worked great for me to raise the family but sell pottery on the weekends. To this day, my children hate craft shows, but hey, I got them to appreciate and know good art when they see it! I have enjoyed living in the South since 1990 and my interest in historical indigenous crafts led me to start re-creating the face vessels that were first made in the South - not too far from where I presently live. In 1998, I retired from the craft show circuit and enjoy working and displaying my pottery along with 50 other artisans in a gallery that I founded here in Barnwell, SC. The Little Red Barn has become a craft and antique destination along South Carolina's Heritage Corridor route. I have been featured on several SCETV programs, appeared in a documentary on contemporary South Carolina face jug artists and have been featured in national and state publications. I enjoy demonstrating face jug making for visitors to Barnwell and being active in the community through involvement with my church, community theatre and tourism board. My husband, Paul, is a technical engineer and avid woodworker and my two children, now grown, are no longer embarrassed that their mother is a potter - albeit still a quirky one!
I started out as a high school English teacher who had a "revelation with clay" shortly after graduating from a New Hampshire college in 1972. It was the 70's and handcrafts were all part of that "get back to nature" movement. Art was already a major part of my life as I dabbled into all sorts of expressive media - from painting to textiles and glass, I tried it all. With a few craft center classes and lots of reading and practice, I became primarily a self-taught potter. When the family increased, I needed to be at home and the craft show circuit worked great for me to raise the family but sell pottery on the weekends. To this day, my children hate craft shows, but hey, I got them to appreciate and know good art when they see it! I have enjoyed living in the South since 1990 and my interest in historical indigenous crafts led me to start re-creating the face vessels that were first made in the South - not too far from where I presently live. In 1998, I retired from the craft show circuit and enjoy working and displaying my pottery along with 50 other artisans in a gallery that I founded here in Barnwell, SC. The Little Red Barn has become a craft and antique destination along South Carolina's Heritage Corridor route. I have been featured on several SCETV programs, appeared in a documentary on contemporary South Carolina face jug artists and have been featured in national and state publications. I enjoy demonstrating face jug making for visitors to Barnwell and being active in the community through involvement with my church, community theatre and tourism board. My husband, Paul, is a technical engineer and avid woodworker and my two children, now grown, are no longer embarrassed that their mother is a potter - albeit still a quirky one!