Clay is such a connection to the Earth. To hold it with my hands is to hold the dream of our mother. While I am hand-building, paddling or working on the wheel a sense of centeredness fills me. All my pieces have aspects of nature in it. The design and form, different clays, methods of applying the design, or how I determine the application of color, all of this brings out the beauty of nature that surrounds us. When the kiln doors are shut you leave your pieces with the element of fire and air and  allow that energy to transform the pieces and to leave its imprint upon it.