The Tale of a Prior Potter
My love of art, I think began with crayons on the wall of my childhood home. Before I even had the words for it creation brought me peace. As I sit here trying to find the way to describe a proper "About" Triple P I think it may be best to start in the beginning. I began throwing in middle school and was instantly hooked. I went in early before school to ready my station and tried to con my art teacher into letting me throw after school. I was a full-blown mud addict.
By the time I became an adult though, stationed at Beale Air Force Base, I hadn't thrown in years. That is until the on-base art center announced they would be donating their pottery wheels I hadn't known existed if they could not find anyone to continue teaching a class. Blessed with the enthusiasm and confidence that only graces you in your early 20's I took up the gauntlet and began teaching the class I no longer knew about. I relearned as I taught the other students and quickly fell back in love with clay and the peace it brought me.
But, as most things in life do, the cycle of falling out of access to the art continued. In both an eternity and a blink I was back in my home town with a husband, a two year old, and a newborn. Postpartum was unkind, and though I was surrounded with love and a house full of laughter and coos, I found myself looking for creativity, identity, and community outside of the family my husband and I built. I came across an advertisement for wheel classes, nearly backed out serveral times from the social anxiety the accompanied my postpartum period, and found myself once again in a swivel chair behind a pottery wheel. The comfort and peace of muddy hands felt like home, and I knew I could never fall back away from this art form again.
Now a days if I'm not playing with my kids or working the day job you can usually find me behind the wheel in my semi-local community studio teaching one-on-one lessons, in my little home studio at my own wheel spinning out pieces for my shop inventory in my favorite local coffee shop and private sale, or sitting cross legged on my couch with my glazing cart finishing up commissions. While my kids are little and my business blossoms I take every opportunity I can to make a little something, even if its just for the fun of it.
As the desire for more classes rise from kids lessons, group wine and craft nights hosted by other small businesses, and budding hobbyists my desire is to continue to pass on the child-like joy that clay brings me to my community. As PPP grows my goal is to get a few more wheels in order to host classes of larger sizes, my own kiln to optimize the time in which I can fire and finish items for inventory, continue to make consistently quality commissions to every client's specifications, give back to my community by providing a space for art and creativity with clay and other mediums, and most importantly be able to give up the day job to spend more time with my family and in building community.
