I grew up in Pennsylvania’s Pocono Mountains, where I first started my studio. I discovered an interest in clay with a pottery class I took in Jr. High School. It was just basic hand building techniques, like slab and coil work, but it was enough to plant a seed. The first time I had access to a pottery wheel, I was in High School. After my very first session on the potter's wheel, I was hooked! I began going every day to practice, and spent as much time as I could in the school's ceramics room. Working in clay became my passion and even then, I knew I wanted to be a potter.
After High School, I wasn’t really sure what one would do to become a professional potter. There was no set rule or recipe that I had ever heard of. It wasn’t like, go to college for four years, get a degree, voila you are a pro. So, I called around every place in the phone book that mentioned the word “pottery”, looking for work and a place to learn. I was lucky enough to find a studio that could use my help, and I went to work as a potter's apprentice.
The Mud Place began in my heart well before I even knew I wanted to try and run a business, and I am so grateful for the chance. It started as a late-night conversation where I said something like "I think I might get a potter's wheel - just for fun". It was really just a dream that grew. Today I work from my Melbourne, Florida studio, where I design and produce pottery. My pottery is available on several websites and retail locations. Creating innovative and functional designs has become a new love and I have a patent on my Sewing Station design. I am constantly working at improving my craft. While it isn't all just playing in the mud, I really love my job.