In 2004 a friend gave me her old kiln, and all the pottery materials and tools she couldn't sell when she closed her own studio. A few months earlier I had started to play with clay again; I hadn't potted for a long time. I felt humbled by such a generous gift, and hoped it would become a nice pastime.

We moved all the stuff into our small garage. Over the next couple of years I collected shelving, tables, and all manner of baking tools from 2nd. hand stores, downsizing friends and even the dump. We replaced the garage door with sliding glass ones, dry walled the entrance area, and added clear pine shelving to make an airy, light, functional display space at the far end of my working studio.

After a year of working on my own, I joined the local potters' guild. There I met a group of wonderful people who helped me with the growing pains of being a fledgling potter. Over the years, we continue to share discoveries and help each other with problem-solving. Recently our guild has taken over a large space in downtown Peterborough Ontario. It has studios and a retail gallery that carries my work. Being part of a guild helps the new potter on their way; it helps the more seasoned potter to mature as a craftsperson, and become an active part the arts community and beyond.

I began pottery as a pastime; ten years later, it has become the center of my life. I find that making functional objects that are a pleasure to look at and use is a deeply satisfying activity. There is something very human about hand made objects in our increasingly industrial world.

I am a great believer in learning manual skills: it's good for our minds and our hearts. It makes us more self-sufficient, while at the same time promotes connectedness, as we share both our products and our artistic visions with the wider world.

My simple little studio in the woods has everything I need to be productive. It's usually a quiet, peaceful place. Unless its during our annual autumn studio tour: then it's full of the hustle and bustle of visitors and all the life that they bring.