I first got involved with clay around 1970 in high school and then took some classes at Orange Coast College in Southern California. My teacher, Bill Payne, was an archaeologist/potter/ teacher. He spent time in Mexico, Guatemala and Peru studying the Aztec and Mayan civilizations. Bill shared his many adventures and then demonstrated the different techniques to make Aztec and Mayan Pottery. From him, I learned to carve and apply clay stamps resulting in many forms of texture on my art pieces.

My mother and friend, Ginny Bacon, is an outstanding watercolor artist from Palos Verdes, California. When I was five years old, she returned to college to get her degree in art and teaching. On occasion, I was the youngest student at Cal State University at Long Beach, when there wasn’t a babysitter to take care of me. From that experience, I got “the bug to be an artist”. I learned more about clay from another Palos Verdes artist, Molly Donahower. In Orinda, California, I met Deanna Griffith and learned about the fine aspects of kiln loading and firing. I worked with Darrel Wilson of Newport Beach as an apprentice potter, learning production pottery. Steven Barisof, of Santa Cruz has impressed on me the virtues of life involving clay and fire. Most of my education has involved working with other artists and spending many long hours at my studio.