Artist's Background

I was born in Hamburg, Germany. My family included several artists, including my great-grandfather and a distant cousin. Many of my aunts and my grandmother loved to stitch or paint.

I attended a small gymnasium (high school) where I received an IB in arts. I worked in tiny classes (about 10 people) with 2 instructors, both of whom were artists as well as teachers. We focused on art history (with emphasis on late 19th Century, early 20th Century, and modern styles) and multi-media art expression - oils, water colors, textiles, sculpture, and pottery.

After I moved to the United States in 1980 I took a course at the Corcoran School of Art and studied at the University of Maryland, majoring in Fine Arts and Art History. In 2000 I volunteered at Greenbridge Pottery in Dayton, Maryland. The Greenbridge artist, Becky Moy-Behre, provided the opportunity for hand sculpture, leaf/plant impressions, simple hand vases, and practice on the pottery wheel.

I subsequently took pottery classes at the Columbia Art Center & Baltimore Clayworks. Recently, I have taken a class on glaze chemistry at Hood College in Frederick, MD, and hope to take more classes on the subject to develop a line of glazes to suit my clay, function & aesthetics.

My training is not yet complete - and never will be. I will continue to pursue new skills (preparing, throwing, and glazing) so long as I continue my craft.