Angel, our young collie mix from the Santa Rosa Animal Shelter,

loves to tag around with Memphis, who leads by a tail (you’ll

see more of Memphis later.)  Unlike her name implies, she has

one of the loudest barks in the universe!

A small clowder (the cat word for “herd”) of newly sculpted

“spitting kitty” fountain pieces; this is what the raw clay looks like

as it begins to dry, before the first of two firings.

John Smith, “Navy Potter,” with two traditional pieces, just out of

their final glaze firing.  John is in charge of large pottery pieces,

and technical support, which means that he takes care of all the hardest

jobs!

John at the wheel, with a brand new pot he’s just thrown.

Our rapid-fire gas kiln, with pieces that we just fired.  Every time we

open the kiln, it’s like Christmas morning!  These pieces were fired

to about 2,300 degrees, which makes them high-fired stoneware,

the most durable form of hand-made pottery there is…oven,

microwave, and dishwasher safe.

Our Singapore kitty, Mickey, is part Siamese.  He enjoys supervising

the glazing process.  You can see some of the glaze colors, which

mostly look like chalk before they are fired in the gas kiln.

These are some of our more traditional pieces, in our Japanese style.

A bunch of “coffee cats,” cat mugs and other kitty pieces

The clay has completely dried, and these kitties are waiting

to be loaded into the bisque kiln for their first firing, which is needed

before we can glaze them and make them beautiful.

The day before we hit the road for a show, this is what we load into

our trailer—box after box of pottery kitties.  We are always amazed

to find that this all actually fits into the trailer.  Then we have to

unload it and set it all up for the show.  Then we have to put it away

AFTER the show.  Art is hard work!

What does a pottery studio look like?   This was once our garage,

now crammed with tables and shelves, every inch of space covered

with work in various stages of completion.  Most pieces will require

at least 20 separate steps to complete, all done by hand. Note the

required studio cat.

Durga is our pack-leader, and is really a big pussycat! 

Here’s Memphis, an off-the street rescue from – you guessed it!—

Memphis, Tennessee!  When he came home, he was all ribs and

head.  Today, he is in charge of kitchen operations.

Mickey and Bobo are street rescues who traveled with us from

Singapore, one of our Navy duty stations.   They’ve been with us

for 12 years now, and you’d never know what a rough start they had.    

Nester, our little lady greyhound, is from Escarosa Greys Greyhound

Adoptions here in Pensacola.  She was petrified when we brought her

home, but now bosses all the other dogs.

Solomon is our second greyhound, and, as his name indicates, is

extremely solemn and introspective, a sweet and quiet boy, but one

who is never late to dinner. He loves his job (pictured).

And, finally, this is me – Mary. What can I say but that I LOVE my job!

God is good. We get to hang out with our animals and make things!

These are just a few photos of our studio and animal family. Thanks for

visiting our site!