I was an Art student at Washington State University when I got hooked on ceramics.

We used a fairly traditional approach to RAKU including a traditional clay body and a very inefficient wood-burning kiln that took hours to reach the relatively low temperature for RAKU ware.

Over the years my technique has evolved considerably. Now, my hand-built and wheel thrown work is fired in an electric kiln. I use a clay body that is more porcelain-like instead of the traditional highly grogged RAKU clay. This gives my work a purity of color and a smoothness that I desire. I have formulated a “crackle” glaze similar to Paul Soldner’s well-known recipe, that I use on the body of my pieces. The bright colors that I use as accent are low-fire commercial glazes. Because of the more fragile clay body, my work will not withstand the thermal shock of a traditional RAKU firing. I must take great care during the post-fire and each piece is placed individually in a metal container with the combustible of choice--almost exclusively newspaper.

Recently, I have “Put Paint to Pottery”. Rather than glazed, my bisque-fired spheres are painted with acrylic paint then waxed, giving me a 360 degree “canvas”.

UNIVERSITY OF HAWAII 1973
Master of Fine Arts/Ceramics

WASHINGTON STATE UNIVERSITY 1970
BA Fine Arts/ “With Distinction”