My Story
As far back as my kindergarten days, I can recall having a strong creative desire. I vividly remember the day Miss Blue asked our class to finger-paint a tree. Walking around she began assessing our work; taking in an endless sea of solid green circles, supported by solid brown posts. When Miss Blue came to my easel, she found something different: A black and brown trunk fanning out at the base, and then separating right and left to support three overlapping oval shapes of various size. The ovals were outlined in black. I had used the tips of my fingers with green paint to make countless small finger-prints (my attempt at leaves) to fill the spheres with color.
Hoisting me up into her arms so I was able to look out the window, Miss Blue complimented my effort, and asked me to take a good look outside. “Robert, how may branches do you see on these trees….how many different colors do you see on the leaves?”
Although I do not recall my response, the effect of her encouragement as well as her challenging me to further refine my finger-painting tree renderings was entrenched in my mind. Improvements were made as soon as she placed me back on the ground. I will be forever grateful to Miss Blue for setting fire to the creative pile of kindling in my heart.
Throughout my grade school and high school years, Art class was right up there with recess/PE and the class-bell, signaling it was time to bolt for the exits. My strong interest in art classes continued in college, ultimately leading me to the world of pottery. I attended Knox College . “Knox?.....Never heard of it.” (Yea, I get that all the time…).
Knox was founded in 1837 and is best known for being one of the seven locations for the Lincoln-Douglas Presidential debates (August 21st – October 15th, 1858), leading up to the 1860 election. Knox has always offered a very low student-teacher ratio (10-1). I enjoyed the benefits of many classes having less than 10 students. My two pottery classes were among these (Class sizes of 9 and 6 respectively). Consistent with most traditional liberal arts colleges, at that time, grade standards were both high and rigid at Knox: Pottery Professor Henry Joe held up his end here quite well. (Think Mr. Miyagi character in the movie Karate Kid). Professor Joe was incredibly demanding, sparing in commentary, while generous with illustration. If Henry said, “Not bad”, it would be considered high praise.
Of the nine students signed up in my first pottery course, two had dropped in the first three weeks. Within the next two weeks, the class lost two more. Of the remaining five students, three were pottery majors within the Art Department, along with myself and one remaining non-art major. Having withdrawn from only one course during my college experience (freshman year, calculus), dropping an art class was not on my radar screen. I re-doubled my efforts, spending countless hours at the wheel. At that time, manual kick-wheels were all we used…and bats did not exist ("Bats" allow easy removal of finished work from the wheel). Not infrequently, I found myself departing the pottery studio at “0-Dark-Thirty” hours of the morning. Aided by the significant encouragement from the three students majoring in pottery, slowly my work continued to improve. Once I completed the requisite pieces, I was granted the freedom to create anything. Lidded jars immediately became my singular focus.
As the final weeks of my last pottery class unwound, my work continued to show improvement, most notably in the relative ease I was finding in throwing taller and more symmetrical pieces. Professor Joe hand selected a few dozen pieces completed by the class, to be included in his “Best-of Class” display to be shown gallery-style for the student population and local community. I was honored to have several of my lidded jars included among the many beautiful works created by the three pottery majors. I was hooked. Although graduation, grad-school and marriage were about to commence, I was certain I would find ways to continue what I found to be my perfect niche of creative artistic expression: Pottery!
Wonderfully, our futures remain unpredictable and unknown. Despite my intoxication with the clay, almost 40 years would pass before I was able to return to the wheel. In 2022 my beautiful and supportive wife suggested it was time for me to re-light my passion for pottery. (Then again, as her timing coincided with my retirement, maybe she just wanted me out of the house!). Regardless, I am forever grateful for her suggestion, encouragement, and support throughout my efforts to re-ignite my love for pottery.
I would be remiss not to also thank my truly wonderful and supportive family (my brother Steve, sister Gina, and my truly amazing Mom, Rose!), along with many friends & relatives for such amazing encouragement,....Shout-out to BHS Class of 80’!....Special thanks to my strongest and early supporters from that great Class: Greg, Mark, Phil, Dick, Lynn, Anne and Patrick (my West Texas buddy). Also, a heartfelt thanks to my lifetime art buddy Mike Powers, for his endlessly artistic inspiration and encouragement (RIP dear friend).
Thanks also to the CAC (Creative Arts Center of Dallas) and the D.C.C (Dallas Clay Collective), with Shout outs to the talented instructors who helped me "get back on my ski's...Sincere thanks for your patience and skilled instruction: Tabatha, Lynn, Daniel, Annie, David & Nathan), and to the wonderful Blue Goat Studio (Mary and Sharon are the best!), who have all provided endless kind and generous feedback from day one. The collective contribution to my sustained efforts has been nothing short of astronomical. Truly, please know that your support continues to provide the on-going fuel to drive my creative passion*. God willing, the best is yet to come.
* To create one-of-a-kind “Sculptures of Clay, Designed to Make you Smile.*