I am a first generation American ceramist of Italian ancestry.
I was raised on a farm in Michigan and graduated from Trinity College in Washington D.C. and the University of Michigan with a B.A. and M.A. in literature. After a few years of teaching on the secondary level, I discovered ceramics. My family had always been involved in making beautiful things and I had not pursued art in college because I felt that it might not allow me to earn an income.
I was so drawn to the medium that I stopped teaching and began an intensive three years of study at Pewabic Pottery in Detroit. When my children were very young, I set up my own studio and began to exhibit and sell my work in prestigious shows like the Smithsonian Craft Show and the Philadelphia Museum of Art Craft Show. I've exhibited widely in the U.S. and in several places internationally. My work is included in the permanent collections of several museums including the Detroit Institute of Arts.
My work has always focused on beautiful useful works in porcelain for the home. I made that choice partly because of the times in which I began to explore clay but mainly because of the respect for craft and design that I learned from my parents.
In the last few years, I have become interested in applying what I know to the creation of large figures and other sculptural works in clay. I now divide my time between working in my studio and teaching an occasional teapot design course at Pewabic Pottery which I enjoy very much.
It would be an honor to in a U.S. embassy anywhere in the world but I would especially enjoy an opportunity to interact with ceramic students in a workshop or short teaching session in Italy.
I do speak Italian well enough to present a lecture or short workshop in that language. I have a smattering of French Spanish and even some German, not enough to speak but enough to understand basic things.
