My hometown in Michigan is in a flood basin and growing up in an area of dense marshland and forests was very impressionable. As a child I was constantly looking for critters in the woods behind my house. I would take pond water samples to examine the microbes under my toy microscope and even had an extensive insect collection, until dust mites got to the specimens.I always tend to look to the ground when out in the world, observing at the small things in life. I appreciate the fine amalgamation of matter on which I walk. Having a connection to the earth, water, and non-human creatures has always been extremely important to me. I no longer kill insects for examination, but instead hunt with a camera lens, or with a pencil and pad of paper. I focused primarily on pottery and other functional forms before beginning my time as a graduate student. I have always been enthralled with the process and integral scientific aspects of ceramics. There is an interconnection between the user and the pottery piece that I enjoy seeing. My main goal after graduation is to create a ceramics studio and gallery where there is a safe place for creativity and professional development for those who wouldn’t normally have opportunities to participate in the arts. ******