About
I started throwing again in 2014, and as the years went by, I began Grouchy Ass Pottery to sell the artwork I create in my free time. This is far from a professional studio and is not meant to be. I am a partner at a successful Advertising Agency, and I've been looking for an artistic release from the pressures of client demands and deadlines. What you see is what you get.
More about me:
Originally from rural Iowa, I grew up in a house filled with art from himself, my prodigy brother, and a very crafty mother. At least twice a week, my mom and stepdad's basement was filled with friends taking ceramics classes – a 15-year battle by them to win every ribbon possible at the Mississippi Valley Fair. So you can say that kilns, glazes, and clay were my childhood. I attributed my love for pottery to my very understanding high school art teacher, who pretty much was why I graduated.
Forward to a time still ingrained in my head and not far enough removed, I was struggling with handling and coping with my wife's diagnosis and subsequent treatment and surgeries from breast cancer – along with an internal battle with calling graphic design "art." So I purchased a wheel to get my head on straight, not realizing that as good as he was 20 years prior, I would be starting again with the very basics. Centering clay on the wheel wasn't like riding a bike at all, and my daily exploding head made my wife seriously question my choice of medium to find calm and peace.
Today, throwing on the wheel and doing some Raku firing experimentation is now part of my daily life. The only agenda I have is what moves me that day, and that's the direction I go. Far from calling myself a professional potter, I currently sell a limited selection of my art when the stars align and the mood fits.