Artist statement…

All of my functional and decorative pottery reflects my love of nature, especially flowers and birds but most of all my pottery reflects my personality - warm, vibrant and colorful. My pots are hand built from slabs of clay. Unlike most potters I do not use the electric wheel to aid in my production. I have a natural ability to produce a wide variety of interesting shapes and types of pots by shaping, folding and joining slabs of clay together and applyingvarious surface decorations.

My finished pots are bisque fired and then glazed and fired at cone 10 in a reduction atmosphere in a gas kiln. A small percentage of my pots are glazed and fired in a smaller gas kiln using the raku technique. Several times a year I produce a line of light colored earthenware pots that are hand painted using under glazes and fired in an electric kiln at cone 04. The raku and earthenware pots are for decorative uses only while my main line of stoneware pots is both functional and decorative.

My career as a clay artist began five years ago when I enrolled in a basis hand building class in pottery. I immediately fell in love with the process and began to produce a number of different shapes and types of pots. I attended several workshops by noted potters but I consider myself as a self taught clay artist. Originally from Hiroshima, Japan I have lived and worked in the Watkinsville, Georgia area for the many years. Currently I have a home in the High Shoals area of Oconee County, Georgia and I work in the School Street Studios, a fully equipped pottery studio in Watkinsville.