My serious engagement with pottery began in 1990 at the age of 39. As a result of this rather late start I jumped in with both feet, initially with an apprenticeship and with workshops at non-academic institutions, and then followed up with graduate school in 1994. Upon completing that degree I was fortunate to be able to establish my home-based studio, Lane's End Pottery, on a wooded bluff outside of Edwardsville, Illinois where my husband and I have lived and worked since 1998. His forging and welding shop keeps him fully occupied while my studio work focuses on limited-production and one-of-a-kind porcelain pottery which we fire in my Bourry Box wood kiln.
For me functional pottery has the potential to transcend the line often drawn between art and craft, bringing into focus through use the quiet power of visual and tactile stimulation to our senses and our spirit. Through close observation and touch the simple and timeless drinking cup or bowl can send us on a reverie through which we revisit former experiences or create new dreams. The choice to live with handmade objects rather than plastic or commercially made counterparts can be a life-affirming decision which nurtures our human connections and feeds the soul.
I enjoy the challenge of working with larger forms that demand to be reckoned with in their spatial environment, but receive the most pleasure from handling clay on a more intimate scale to form smaller pots that will be accessible to daily living. I interact with these pots repeatedly during the various stages of the making process, and it is my hope that they will become an active part of the household where they ultimately take up residence.
Charity Davis-Woodard