Linda’s Journey

For as long as I can remember I've wanted to be a potter. When I was five years old we lived in student housing at the University of Michigan, Ann Arbor. My best friend, Jenny, and I dug up clay from the sandbox in the courtyard of the student housing complex where we lived and made little pinch pots. That  summer Jenny and I set up our card table and held our first pottery sale.

While still in elementary school we visited a potter in New Hampshire. Watching her work on the wheel was mesmerizing.  In school we did simple hand building projects with clay slabs and coils. I loved it, but believed I was not artistic and did not take art classes in High School or college.  My longing to work with clay never left me. 

Finally, when my daughter was three years old I signed up for my first pottery class. As a stay at home mom I knew I needed the adult interaction and realized that this desire to work in clay was not going to go away.  My Wednesday night, mixed levels course was with Susheel Jones at the Lexington Arts and Crafts Society, now “LexART,”  Susheel was a strict, but kind, teacher and I learned good skills and discipline from her. Three years later I was invited to be a prospective member and then a member of their pottery guild. 

Sheffield Pottery’s T3 clay was the student clay. It is a beautiful clay and great for learning. At LACS I mastered functional forms such as mugs, bowls, plates and lidded containers and, as a member, I had access to workshops with well known potters from throughout the country. I was part of a kiln firing team, where I first learned to load and fire a cone 10 reduction kiln and the intricacies of the Raku kiln. I was fortunate enough to work for several years firing with other potters.

In the early 2000’s life took me in a different direction and I was unable to do much pottery for several years. By 2011 I was hungry for a return to clay and I took a wonderful workshop in soft slab construction with Lana Wilson. This workshop reignited my love for clay and I spent several years working on cone six, heavily textured, slab constructed work. 

Then in 2017 I followed my, now adult, daughter to Maine and took a dive into full time pottery. You may have stopped at my table on a first Friday art walk, taken a class with me, or crossed paths at any of the wonderful galleries and exhibitions in Portland. I have since furthered my experience with pottery by teaching and participating in various workshops and courses across New England, including Maine College of Art, Portland Pottery, Snow Farm, and Haystack. My primary focus remains throwing functional ware and looser, soft slab constructed forms.

I feel fortunate to have kept my hands in clay, in one way or another, until transitioning to being a full-time potter. Adding teaching and helping others begin their clay journey is personally rewarding. Drawing on my professional teaching experience, I work to create a cooperative learning environment and a culture of support and kindness within each class and throughout the studio. My hope is that students will develop a voice in their clay work and feel a sense of belonging within their clay community.