I have experimented with silversmithing, fiber arts, rock carving, glass blowing, and more, but it was a handbuilding with clay class at Montserrat College in Beverly, Massachusetts, that got me focused on clay. Working with mostly white stoneware, I make all kinds of whimsical items, but one of my favorite items is my sheep rattle because it’s the result of a dream that left me with a sense of overwhelming peace and comfort during a time a needed it most. And it’s inspired other rattle creatures as well, including bunnies, giraffes and more.
When my hands aren’t wrapped around a ball of clay, I’m writing or editing. I have worked in publishing for more than 30 years, in either on staff or freelancing for such magazines as Martha Stewart’s Body + Soul, Glamour, The Atlantic Monthly, Cook’s Illustrated, Cook’s Country, Inc. Magazine, UltraSport, Boston Magazine’s Home & Garden, and many others. I was Walking Magazine’s managing editor and travel editor for 15 years, which afforded me the luxury of walking and hiking in a multitude of destinations around the world, including Australia’s Outback, the Galapagos Islands, Canadian Rockies, and Europe, as well as exploring many of our own natural wonders here in the United States.
My adventures remain a source of inspiration for my art, but as beautiful as all of these places are to visit, it’s the coastal towns of New England that I call home. I currently live and work from a 19th century house in historic Salem, Massachusetts, with my dog Alex by my side. And when I’m not at home, I can be found at the North Shore Clay Studio in the old Lydia Pinkham factory in Lynn, where I am an artist in residence.
I sell my work in gift shops and online, and my sheep rattles have found homes as far away as London and Paris.