I discovered clay as an artistic medium while working on my BFA at the University of North Carolina at Greensboro in 2001. Instantly, my relationship with clay became passionate and intense. I began to focus my artistic education into pottery, choosing functional pottery because I embrace the idea of art in everyday life. I then attended the Professional Crafts progam at Haywood Community College. In 2006, I set up a studio in my Asheville, NC home. My business started to grow quickly, but still I needed a way to fire my pots. It was very important to me to be able to build my own gas kiln. Unfortunately, Asheville city zoning does not permit large combustible-fire-breathing-brick-chambers (also known as kilns) within the city limits. Actually, gas kilns are an easily controlled environment and are not dangerous if the user is educated and if the kiln is used properly. Nonetheless, the city has no inspection process for hand built kilns and could not approve such a structure. So...two years ago my husband and I left our home in Asheville and moved to the country, where we could build a kiln. We now reside on a small farm in the Fines Creek Community of Haywood County, North Carolina.
We built a studio in the back yard. As construction processes often do, the project took longer than anticipated. During that time, I have been very fortunate to experience some amazing opportunities. Now, with an unreal amount of support from my family and my husband's family, the studio is done. Last Wednesday, we laid the foundation of my gas fueled salt/soda kiln. This blog exists to document this journey.
More importantly, this blog is a thank you to everyone, friends, family and fellow potters, who have supported me through this process of helping make my dreams come true. I hope you all will enjoy seeing this journey that I am about to embark upon!!!
Thanks y'all!
"A foot and light-hearted I take to the open road
Healthy, free, the world before me
The long brown path before me
Leading wherever I choose." -Walt Whitman
