AMY WHARF - PEONE CREEK POTTERY

About 30 years ago I decided to pursue a long-held interest in making pottery. I get great satisfaction from every part of the process. I love the feel of the clay when I am throwing on the potter’s wheel. I enjoy dividing the pot into sections to decorate with carved or stamped patterns. The variables in the glazing and firing processes have made me more accepting and open to chance. I describe my pottery as elegantly functional. I start with a classic shape and then add decorations based on the beauty I see in nature.

I am inspired by the thought that my pottery is used and enjoyed daily. In my personal life, I have rebelled against the industrial food production system. I grow, harvest, hunt, freeze and can the food that I eat as much as possible. I use my pottery to cook, serve, and eat from. By extension, when a customer purchases my functional pottery, I hope they are “joining the rebellion”. I give my favorite recipes to my customers so they can immediately start using their newly purchased piece.

My pottery is either thrown on the potter’s wheel, made from a clay slab, or extruded. Once the basic shape is about half dry, I decorate it. I have a few commercial tools I use but many of the tools are ones I have made or found. These include pieces of wood, screws, chopsticks, sea shells, leaves, and embossed wall paper; anything that will make a unique mark or impression on the clay.

I never went to school to study pottery making and was working a full-time job when I first set up my home studio. I didn’t have much association with other artists. So, taking the leap and joining Pottery Place Plus brought me into a new world of learning from and collaborating with other artists. This has helped me enormously with business aspects of being an artist and has also been inspiring creatively. Seeing other members grow artistically and explore new ideas has given me the courage to do the same and just GO FOR IT when I am in my studio.