Artist Statement and Biography
As a potter, I relish the challenge of making the most functional object also a thing of beauty and longevity. My hope is that my pieces will live in the owner’s home and life as a daily reminder of our connection to each other and nature. I want the user to feel the mark of my hand in the work as a way to connect to their own humanity and our shared history. Pottery is an artform that lasts for hundreds, even thousands of years and is passed down in families and through friends to mark milestones and celebrations. I want my work to compel the user to consider moments they take to use and enjoy my handmade work to be a small celebration of their life and the world they are creating for themselves. Like many potters, I am inspired by the material itself, nature and the place where form and function meet. I am lucky to live and work surrounded by the woods, in a place where I can look down and be inspired by a leaf, tree bark, the clouds racing across the sky or my child’s hand in the clay next to mine.
Wood-fired wall hanging faces in relief.
Gwen is a lifelong artist and teacher. She was born and raised in the beautiful city of Frederick, Maryland. After attending the FCPS Academy of Fine Arts High School, Gwen went on to earn a BFA with a concentration in Ceramics from East Carolina University. She then continued to study the craft through an apprenticeship with Rebecca Moy at Greenbridge Pottery and through an Artist in Residency at Hood College. She moved to Asheville, NC in 1998 and set up a studio and raised her family for 16 years before moving home to Frederick.
Another passion has been teaching art. Gwen taught elementary and middle school art for twelve years at ArtSpace Charter School in Asheville NC and has taught pottery to both children and adults in private studios and art centers. She taught art at the Lucy School in Frederick and spent three years with Frederick County Public Schools teaching elementary art. Gwen is currently working full-time in her home studio while also raising her two daughters, three stepchildren and a multitude of pets. She and her husband Rick enjoy visiting art galleries, traveling, hiking, gardening and cooking together.