EAST OTTO COUNTRY
I was born in Buffalo and have lived in Western NY my entire life. I received a BFA degree from Daemen College in 1971. Although I majored in oil painting, I loved the semester of ceramics which I took in my senior year. After graduating I purchased a potter's wheel and began working in clay as a hobby in the basement of our city home. During this time (from 1971-1976) I also taught high scho
ol art classes for the Diocese of
Buffalo. In 1976 my husband Michael and I moved to rural Otto, NY where I
worked several part time jobs locally in graphic and floral design and also did
some substitute teaching. (There were no full time teaching jobs available
locally in high school art.) When our two daughters were born in 1977 and 1979,
I wanted very much to stay at home and raise our family. I thought it might be
possible to use my artistic abilities in some way at home to help supplement
Michael's nursing income. Drawing upon my love of clay, we turned an old
machinery shed into a working studio and established our home-based pottery
business, Hog-Shed
Studio, in 1982. What inspires my work? That is really a difficult question to answer... Artistically, I have always been drawn to primitive art, especially Egyptian and African. I like the repeated patterns of these ancient cultures; the way they decorated and embellished the simple items they used in every day life.
Why do I workas a potter? I enjoy working with my hands. I love the tactile quality of clay, feeling it change form between my fingers. Just the slightest pressure on the potter's wheel can alter the shape of a pot. There is also something calming about working with clay. You have to take your time and not hurry. As a potter, I particularly love the glazing process and the way the fire of the kiln brings the glaze patterns to life. I can paint my organic designs on the surface of each pot, but when the work is place in the kiln and fired, the "kiln gods" take over. One does not have one hundred percent control over the finished work. When the kiln is opened and unloaded there are always surprises. That is the excitement of ceramics! My advice to aspiring artisits?… Simply stated, I guess I'd have to recommend that someone should never be afraid to follow his or her creative dreams. Practically speaking, I also recommend that anyone hoping to pursue a career in the arts should have good basic design skills. Whether working two or three dimensionally in any medium, one must have a well developed sense of design, color, balance and composition. One's technical abilities will improve and grow with time and experience, but an intuitive sense of design is integrally important. It is also important to stay in touch with other artists, especially if one works alone in the studio. I make the effort to attend pottery workshops around the country as often as I can to gain technical information and marketing ideas. I also become inspired and artistically enriched by this interaction with other potters who share a mutual love of clay.
What about marketing?Even after twenty-four years of making pottery, I still find myself struggling sometimes with the challenges of marketing. There is always the potential conflict of making something that will sell, verses making something that fills one's creative need. It is extremely important to have artistic integrity and not compromise one's beliefs when doing custom work. It is necessary to find a balance. To be able to create a market for what one makes is the ultimate mark of success I think. In addition to selling my work from our studio, I have exhibited for many years in regional art shows throughout the western NY area. Showing one's work is an excellent way to create exposure and improve marketing. It is also a good opportunity to be able to see what other artists are doing. Over the years I have seen these shows become more highly competitive as well as more expensive. (Entry fees normally run between $250- $300.) One can never depend upon getting into a juried show, so it is necessary to apply to a number of them just in case.
Hog-Shed Studio Pottery