My studio has had an interesting journey. Due to car accident injuries, I was forced to stop throwing for over 30 years. In December of 2017, I decided it was time to jump back in and I haven’t looked back, since. Our home is small so my only option was to set up a make-shift cubicle/studio in my kitchen. It was ridiculous! I shared the space with an exercise bike and all the regular kitchen items. I set wet clay pots to dry on every possible flat surface available. Clay was taking over our lives and there was barely room to cook and eat.
After about 6 months of this nonsense, my talented husband, Randy, transformed a storage room behind our garage into a wonderfully creative space! It was small, but it was wonderful! The only pottery equipment I had saved was my 40-year-old Robert Brent potters wheel. It was top-of-the-line, back in 1979, and I bought it used in 1980. Prior to this I used a non-electric kick wheel.
Little by little, I added tools, shelving, 2 kilns, a wedging table, pugmill, bats, scales, clay, and lots of raw glaze chemicals. Every need seemed to lead to another. Randy built walls, added a window and installed French doors. We put in a thermostatically controlled heater because clay must not freeze. I had an ongoing list of things for him to do, and he graciously complied. He was as excited about my projects as I was. We worked side-by-side for 40 years teaching wilderness survival courses (www.etisurvival.com) and now it was my turn to focus on my goals.