I am a full time potter living and making pots in Fernie, British Columbia, Canada. I make functional slab-built pottery in my home studio on a an acre of land on the edge of a little ski town.

My Story

I majored in ceramics at the Alberta College of Art and Design in Calgary, Alberta, Canada. I was then a student at Colorado University in Boulder and went on to do graduate studies at the University of Minnesota in Minneapolis (which I never completed…because life happened and I had a baby!) Along the way I started a family, lived in a barn and helped run my husband's family ranch. Over ten years ago we decided to make the big move to Fernie, BC. Saying goodbye to the ranch and cows was tough, but it opened the door to more studio time. Of course, living in a mountain town, we take breaks for big snow days in the winter and mountain-biking and lake days in the summer. The mountains inspire and sustain me. I took this photo from one of Fernie's many amazing bike trails.

I enjoy pottery that conveys personality, a slight air of attitude, that first step off the path.  In that vein, my pots are never entirely symmetrical, as though they are leaning towards animation. I like this static sense of energy in pottery.  It evokes the plastic nature of clay in its raw form, but also the movement associated with the pot's intended use. It reflects our beauty and awkward imperfections; imperfections that celebrate the handmade object over mass-produced, industrial ware.

My pottery is inspired by many things, including the natural landscape around my mountain home, the rich history of ceramics, but also by antique tinware, textured metal, and old things you might find in barns. In the past few years my research has led me to creating repeated pattern using hand-carved stamps whose shapes are often inspired by nature. Often abstracted flowers, garden harvests, and other vegetation.