Clay is possibility. It can be beautiful or functional. It starts with an idea and becomes something permanent.

I started working with clay over 30 years ago and it brings me as much joy now as it did then. And to have someone say they still have a bowl or mug I made for them is incredibly satisfying. Art with purpose and function which also holds memories.

While the clay and fiber pieces I currently create may not be functional, there is power in its beauty. I’m personally drawn to art that makes you want to get up close and marvel at the details. I’m inspired by locations, by the emotional memories of places I’ve been, how the colors create a mood and I am drawn to use this as my main inspiration in my pieces.

I moved from practical to purely aesthetic when I made a birthday present for my sister. Once that project was completed, I was moved to explore other possibilities. Each piece becomes a riddle to solve. A new technique. A new texture. A new color combination. Evolution and change. Onward and upward. Experimenting has led to creating something that purposefully evokes an emotional reaction, a memory, an inspiration.

Pottery allows me to put something of myself out into the world. As an introvert, I find this is the best way of expressing myself. I’ve been inspired greatly by my parents, both creative in their own ways. I was constantly encouraged to share my creativity with others.

Artist, artisan, handcrafter, craftsman, each word evokes a different sentiment and a different feeling. Quality differences, intentional differences, interpretational differences. I’m not sure I would consider myself an artist. I’m not a crafter either. I’m a potter. However, now that I’m including other materials, even potter feels limiting.  When you see yourself differently, you act, think and behave differently.

It’s a compulsion for me at this point. I have ideas – many ideas – and I am driven to make each of them a reality.

Located in Dalton, GA, Kathryn finds herself spending time in her homebased pottery studio while also juggling being a mom to a fabulously active – and equally talented – daughter and wife to her hard-working and loving husband.