I have no formal art training, but as any art outsider, I have made art of one form or another all of my life. I first fell in love with clay when I was 10 years old and I received a child’s pottery wheel from the Sears Roebuck Christmas catalog. I returned to clay 40 years later, and was hooked once more. Every time I sit down at my wheel I am thankful for the small things, tiny details that make up a life well lived.

Five years after my return to clay, as a way to keep working in the winter, I made my first miniature. Each tiny pot is made from porcelain with the same attention to detail and craftsmanship as a full size pot. Their size makes me stop and focus my gaze intently; for just a moment, time stands still, and as my breath slows, I am reminded again of all of the small things I am thankful for.

Inspired by nature, I am developing an unmistakable style of dry bodied miniature porcelain adorned with abstract vines, hand formed leaves, berries and flowers. Inspired by antique barbotine ware as well as Jasperware produced by the Wedgewood Studios, each piece begins on the pottery wheel before the decorative elements are attached to the vessel while the pot is still wet.

A main element of the process is based on intuition and capturing the movement of form found in nature before the various components become too fragile to be manipulated. My work is not about place or time, but of a memory or ephemeral experience of being small in a larger venue. The small scale of the pieces demands the viewer slow down and focus their attention on the minute details.