I have had an interest in sculpture my entire life. I was obsessed with Play-Doh and modeling clay from a very young age. When I had the opportunity to take a pottery class in high school, I jumped at the chance. Once introduced, I was hooked. I never considered pursuing a formal education in ceramics, and my path in college took another direction. About seven years after graduation, I found myself married and expecting a child. At that time I began taking pottery classes in Atlanta, and once again I felt the medium pulling me in. I have been playing in the mud ever since.

I moved to Wisconsin in 2004 and resumed classes there. At that time, I immersed myself in making aliens, one figure after another, and I continued doing so until my infant son grew old enough to appreciate my work. I finally started to branch out, making 'hobs' and robots - anything to ammuse him. I began selling my work at a local gallery in 2008 after continued encouragement from my husband and several instructors.

Initially my focus was on sculptural objects, but once the economy took a hit, I realized I needed to think about making functional items. This is when the robot salt and pepper shakers and banks were born. I have been making them ever since, and I absolutely love them. I also pull together imp series when the mood strikes me. The idea came to me after watching my husband collect various types of urban vinyl. I thought, "Why not create a collection of original, handmade creatures from porcelain or stoneware?"

I work when I find the time between running a household and taking care of my two boys. I handbuild each piece from a shapeless lump of clay (without the use of molds), which is extremely time consuming. My perfectionism can sometimes be my undoing - a single set of salt and pepper shakers often takes me five and a half hours to six hours to create, from start to finish. As a result, I'm not able to mass-produce, instead choosing to create a small number of original, highly refined pieces. That said, I sell my work to support my art. Most of the money goes towards paying for studio time and materials. I do much of my work out of my home, visting studios at least once a week. I am very fortunate to have access to Rick McKinney's studio at Fired Earth Pottery in Appleton, Wisconsin. He is also the owner and creator of MKM Pottery Tools. This access allows me to work with some of the best materials, glazes and tools in the area, if not the nation (not to mention his natural gas kiln that fires in reduction to cone 10). Because of this, along with Rick's knowledge and expertise, I plan to continue working in the studio whenever possible. As a result, I really do enjoy what I'm doing, and I plan to continue to sell my wares, plugging along at a snail's pace, until both of my boys are in school full time. **what happens then?**