Creating is the best and deepest part of me, the true voice of my inner, God-given, personality. I opened my studio after completing graduate school at Ohio University. For a quarter of a century, I have fashioned columns with pliable clay, upwards of 250 pounds per column. The stoneware body is formulated for me according to my own recipe. I also mix all my own glazes. To date, I have done 335 firings in my gas kiln, a New York-made Bailey. I gain great delight in shouldering my way through the clay with a heavy wood roller. The blank “canvas” will begin to speak for me as I muscle the primary slab forms, building and coiling the clay by hand. For final shaping, I pound the clay with a simple paddle; each column hums its own songs. The columns rise from my own story. Losing my father while I was in high school made me comprehend how truly precious life is. I realized it was important to make each day count. To that end, I aim to live fully, savoring individual moments, to trust in God, and to forgive completely. Living this way yields positive images and uplifting messages of beauty, which I aim by my art to create and share. When all is said and done, at the end of my days, I want the clay work to point to our Maker, the original Artist.