I have always been a tinkerer and a maker. The need to make has been in my blood my whole life. The son of a mechanic, I had an interest in building and mechanics from a young age. I built bicycles from discarded parts and took apart radios, t.v.’s and other electronic devices to see how they worked and to get parts for other projects. I built a small citizens band radio and was fascinated by the ability to put something together with my own hands that allowed me to communicate with people who were far away.
Like many ceramic artists, my clay story began in college when I took a Ceramics class as an elective. I had been pursuing degrees in Philosophy and US History but it only took that one class to discover what most Ceramics artists know as the “pull of the material”. Over the course of the semester, I found myself constantly being drawn to the Ceramics studio. Late nights became all‐nighters as I was sucked into the clay world. It wasn’t long before I changed my major to Fine Arts in Ceramics, graduating in 2000.
I’ve explored many facets of the visual arts world and have worn the hats of working potter, art teacher and art center director. When my twin boys were born in the summer of 2013, I was working long hours as the Executive Director of an art center in Boston, MA. My own work—pottery—had been taking a back seat as I focused most of my energies on the art center. While bringing the arts to the community was rewarding, I knew that my heart and my passion were at home in my studio and with my boys.
With the support of my wife, we made some major changes, including a move from Massachusetts to Kentucky. This move has allowed me to get back into my studio and stay home with our sons. Currently, my life consists of playing with my boys, diaper changes, naps and feeding times during the day and studio time at night. I have been busily building equipment, getting materials and making glazes. My passion has always been functional objects and my working process is shifting towards the use of local clays and firing to cone 6 reduction in a small gas kiln.