 I
was born to immigrant parents in Minneapolis, MN and have spent most of
my life in the Minneapolis area. My parents shared with me their
interest in knowing about and visiting other parts of the world. In
high school I was an exchange student to Germany. In college I studied
French and German, which fit well with my desire to go abroad again and
I spent a year studying in France.
As far back as I can remember
I've always wanted to try pottery. When I was seven or eight my dad
planted a tree in our yard. The ground was mostly clay and I salvaged a
big chunk of it from the hole my dad dug. I formed it into a
rudimentary bowl, carved designs into the side, and colored it yellow
with my poster paints. Then I persuaded my mom to put it in the oven
for me.
Though I was always interested
in art, I didn't take it seriously. My high school years were focused
on the "more serious" academic courses that all the college-bound kids
were taking. It was only after reaching college, that long-discussed
goal, that I allowed myself the freedom to take art courses. I took my
first ceramics course and loved it. I was in the ceramics studio every
day and often late into the night. I wanted to put in enough time to
complete my own projects in addition to class assignments. I took two
more ceramics courses and enough other art courses to complete a minor
in Studio Art.
I was sad to leave college and I
found the working world rather dull. I felt I needed a "real job" with
health insurance and a 401(k) plan, but I wasn't exactly sure what I
wanted to do. I settled into a routine of working and taking evening
classes to fight the boredom. First I took language classes and art
history classes. Several years later I started taking pottery classes.
At first it was just a diversion, but after a while I started focusing
more time and energy into improving my skills and making more pots. My
dad thought he glimpsed a dream in me. He had a talk with me about the
value of pursuing dreams and he bought me a potter's wheel. This allowed
me to spend even more time on pottery.
In the fall of 2001 my friend
Kirsten Langsetmo invited me to join the Purple Door Potters for their
annual holiday sale. I was flattered and thrilled. I began making
pots not just for myself, but for other people too. The next year
Kirsten encouraged me to join her in applying for a couple of art
fairs. We sat together at the fairs and when customers came by she
enthusiastically pointed out the characteristics she values in my pots.
When my relatives came by she pulled them aside individually and told
them she sees talent in me that's worth nurturing and supporting. Over
the next few years I increased my schedule of art fairs and I gradually
came to think of myself as a potter. In 2005 I started teaching pottery
classes at Eagan Art House, which gives me great satisfaction.
I enjoy trying a variety of firing
techniques including gas reduction, raku, soda-firing. Lately I've
especially enjoyed using wax resist in combination with glaze to
decorate my pots. I like the contrast between the glazed and unglazed
clay when I do this on raku pieces and on soda pieces. I also like to
play with wax patterning on carbon-trap shino glazes. |
