Reflecting back, last summer felt like a personal journey, starting with a visit to Roanoke to see my friend (who lives in France) Diana Quinby’s exhibit with fellow artist Katy Martin, Inscribing the Skin. Sharing their experience was very inspiring. After a short stay at home I traveled to Penland North Carolina to take a workshop with Catherine White, Wood Firing and the Expressive Hand. On the way there I visited Kristy Davis and her family. We studied organic chemistry together at Earlham College many years ago memorizing equations and creating a bond which has stood the test of time.

The Penland experience is hard to describe in words. On the first evening we were told that we would find ourselves outside of our comfort zone and that we should see this as a positive thing. There were many challenges but when I think back to the experiences I’ve learned the most from I realize that they were also the hardest. Not all of them required getting up at 2AM to stoke the kiln two nights in a row but in all fairness, I signed up for that!

Catherine White is an amazing artist. I admire her spontaneous way of working and response to the natural world. She is also very thoughtful and this combination of qualities makes her work rich and her teaching style generous. I have some new ideas to work with. I tried Catherine’s technique of using a carpenter’s saw to create texture and am excited to do more with that. I was inspired by Catherine’s work that has both textural and smooth qualities in the same piece. I have been looking for a way to go back to creating more sculptural work and I think I found it. More than anything, I think the workshop taught me that I should follow my ideas which sometimes, takes courage.