08/21/2026
An update about me and The Village Potters Clay Center
As I look toward the future of The Village Potters Clay Center, I find myself holding two things very closely: Change and Gratitude.
We are still walking a road that is longer and harder than any of us could have imagined. Yet, through it all, we are not alone. Again and again, people step forward to encourage me personally, work beside us, believe in us, and remind us why The Village Potters matters. I am surrounded by people who have grace for me in this season of challenge and you know who you are. You are water for my soul!
Today, I am filled with hope for what comes next for our beloved community.
I am also figuring out my own new role at TVP. For so many years as a co-owner with my husband george, my purpose and leadership role was woven into every part of this organization, artist, teacher, mentor, business owner, leader, dreamer, and everyday simply a person willing to do whatever needed to be done.
This season is different. As we rebuild and grow, I am learning what it means to lead The Village Potters into its next chapter while also making room for new leadership to begin to carry this vision forward.
One thing has always been true: The Village Potters has never been about any one person. It is about all of us. Clay is our medium but people are our purpose!
To our Independent Study and Mentoring artists, our beloved Advanced Studies emerging professional potters, thank you. Watching you fire kilns together, share critiques, stretch yourselves creatively, encourage one another, and become the artists you are meant to be continues to be one of the greatest joys of my life.
To our students, thank you for trusting us with your creative journeys. Whether you are walking through our doors for the first time wondering if you can make something from clay or coming to us as an experienced potter seeking deeper growth, you are a big part of who we are.
To our extraordinary staff, there are simply not enough words. You continue to work through circumstances none of us could have anticipated. You carry heavy loads, solve countless problems, welcome people with warmth, and continue to believe in what we are building even on the hardest days. I am profoundly grateful for each of you.
To the many beautiful potters and ceramic artists who make up this remarkable community: thank you for allowing us to serve you. You remind us every day that clay is so much more than a material. It is the vehicle that brings healing, growth, creates livelihoods, friendships, community, and meaningful lives centered around connection and making.
And to our community leaders, partners, supporters, donors, friends, and encouragers throughout our greater community, thank you for seeing us. Thank you for making phone calls, opening doors, offering advice, giving generously, sharing resources, and sometimes simply saying, “You’ve got this!” Words like those are water for my spirit! It says I see you, I know this is hard and I care!
I am especially grateful for the encouragers under our own roof, the people who show up every day and choose to keep building our community through hope, positivity and purpose. There is something extraordinary about looking around and realizing how many people believe that this work, this community, and this future are worth fighting for.
My hope for The Village Potters Clay Center is bigger today than ever, not because this journey is easy, but because we are seeing what this community is capable of when we stand together. Our future is bright and I look forward to the next generation taking the reins!
I dream of a permanent home where generations of ceramic artists learn, work, teach, build businesses, and find community. I dream of expanding the ways we serve potters throughout our region and beyond. I dream of mentoring emerging artists as they discover their unique voices and build sustainable creative lives. And I dream of a Village that continues long beyond me and any one of us.
Perhaps my new role is still unfolding because The Village itself is still unfolding.
For now, I know this: I want to spend this next chapter doing what I love most encouraging people, developing artists and leaders, dreaming big, and protecting the healing heart of this extraordinary community.
We still have work ahead of us. We are still rebuilding. We are still discovering what this next chapter looks like. But when I look at the friends and believers standing beside me, I am filled with gratitude.
Thank you for believing in me and all of us at The Village Potters Clay Center. Thank you for standing with us when we could barely stand. And thank you for continuing to walk with us as we build what comes next, together. Each day is not necessarily easy or pretty but to quote what many of my close friends keep saying to me "You've got this!" and we do!
