My first experience of art making was in fifth grade at an after school Tole painting class. I participated in the tedious activity of
decorating various household objects with fruit, flowers and fantastical small landscapes. It wasn’t until years later that I realized
I had acquired valuable skills of color mixing, color theories, and spatial composition. After a couple of years my painting
instructor retired and the only class available was a ceramics class. This was a class in basic glazing and painting commercial
slip-cast molded objects. It was a full-service studio that encompassed the entire process from mold making, to the final glaze
fired object. It was in this class that I first discovered the magic of clay and glazes. I continued to take art and photography classes
throughout high school and inevitably knew that art would be an important part of my life. I romanticized the idea of traveling
the world as a photojournalist. In 1984, My first semester of college, I participated in journalism classes that did not interest me.
At that time I befriended an art student in ceramics, she recommended I take a ceramics class in the art department at
Arkansas State University. The next semester I enrolled in beginning ceramics and discovered that this was exactly what I wanted
to pursue. Many years later, I am still in awe at the magic and potential the ceramic process offers.
