Gloria Gilmore House

My childhood playground, shared with four siblings, was 100 acres of Pennsylvania woods.  We had great fun building hide-outs, diverting streams, exploring mud, snow, ice, picking wild flowers, and collecting leaves, thoroughly immersed in nature.  Its textures and patterns continually resurface in my work.

As a college student, I was mesmerized by the history of art. This interest culminated in a doctorate on medieval stained glass, a decade working in art museums and finally the realization that my future happiness lay more in the making of art than in its study or administration. I am intrigued and inspired by ceramics from ancient cultures including the Near and Far East, Greece, Rome and our own Southwest.

I am fascinated by the feel of clay, in the hand, on the wheel, in the recycling bin and when glazed.  I challenge myself to push clay in new directions: waiting for the right moment of softness or stiffness to exploit its limits.  Once fired and frozen in time, I appreciate the nuances of each piece as a result of the capricious nature of firings whether with wood, soda, gas or electricity.

  Clay centers my life.  Whether hand built or wheel thrown, working with clay is a meditative process and a direct connection to those who have walked this earth before us.  I thrill to find an ancient pottery shard or medieval tankard that preserves its maker’s fingerprint as fresh today as the day the piece was fired.

Clay is for sharing. I delight in making functional pots that feel good, perform well and give aesthetic pleasure to those using them. I also enjoy teaching pottery and get great satisfaction from helping students discover the magic of clay for themselves.