Did you know that I used to be a big Correlle commercial glass dinnerware fan?
I grew up with all of my mom's dinnerware matching, and all of it very light weight correlle glass plates. Naturally, I just assumed everyone's dinnerware including my own should match.

It took me years to get over this desire to have everything match. I mean most people can handle an ecclectic cup collection, but a varied plate collection...that can be a stretch; including me back in the day. Honestly, it took my art professor questioning my desire to have matching plates at a group dinner she was hosting at her house. She told me to look at the Mary Bowron plate I was eating off of. That plate was an art piece unto itself, and I had the opportunity to fill my whole kitchen with art work, and stories of endeared artists.
Well my art professors story of the preciousness of an artist plate stuck with me. I have become a pottery collector. Surprise surprise... a lot of my plates are even Mary Bowron's plates. I love hosting meals at my home, and seeing peoples reactions to choosing an art piece to eat off of. Usually, the reactions are joyful, and sometimes a race to grab their favorite pottery. For some of my friends, it's a learning curve to appreciate that pots are typically heavier than correlle glass...but slowly I bringing one friend at a time over to the dark side of loving handmade pottery.
In my new Milwaukee house/studio I have had a big dream come true of creating a plate wall. It brings me so much joy to have my collection of plates becoming a wall of "painting" that get used and rearranged.

About Chris & Theresa:
"We are both art enthusiasts. Theresa is a student of ceramic arts."
 
What Kind of art work do you Collect? 
"pottery, statues, paintings, handmade jewelry"
 
Why do you buy handmade pottery? 
Theresa – “There are many reasons why. It’s one of a kind, handmade art that typically is also functional. I enjoy supporting the tradition of the arts. I like to see and feel the potter’s hands in a piece.”
 
Chris – “I appreciate the procedure and dedication of years of disciplined practice to result in any piece I hold presently.”
 
How did you acquire a Lisa York piece of pottery? 
"2019 20 Dirty Hands Tour, Joe Pinder’s shop, Pinder Pottery, Inc., Galena, Illinois."
 
What’s your favorite part about the Lisa York piece of pottery you own? 
Chris – “I really love geometry and bright colors. Lisa’s red mug had such a striking color result, along with the way the mug was thrown to create the circular shape, but then the external walls were shaped into a tangent square surrounding the circular inner wall. It reminded me of certain famous children’s picture books many of us read when we were kids. Almost like an object in those books that was brought to three-dimensional life from the pages.”
 
Theresa – “I like that both pieces were wheel-thrown and then altered. Both are square, and in the case of the garlic jar, it also has a round lid. This makes the pieces unique, and I see the artist’s hands in the work.”

About Sabine:
"I retired in 2000 and ever since have been making pottery.  I have a home studio and mostly electric fire to cone 5-6.  I hold an annual open house and sell my pottery at several local events.  I donate the proceeds from my sales to a local food bank."

​Do you collect handmade pottery?
"Although I don’t think of myself as being very materialistic, I have to admit that I like to buy pottery.  I have a collection of pots that I acquired from local pottery studios – e.g., Greenbridge Pottery, The Lion Potter, Susan Greenleaf (formerly at the Torpedo Factory), Matt Hyleck (Baltimore Clayworks), M4 Studio and Mea Rhee.  Just recently I visited the pottery studio of Allison Coles Severance near Frederick, Maryland, and bought two of her beautiful wood-fired bowls.  But I also pick up pieces while visiting art and craft fairs or when I travel.  Recently, I purchased several pieces from Mayumi Yamashita Ceramics in Japan through Etsy.  I greatly admire the work of Anne Mette Hjortshoj, a Danish potter whose studio is on the beautiful island of Bornholm (I visited the island as a child.).  She is represented by Goldmark in the U.K. and I purchased a small pot through the gallery."
 
Why do you buy handmade pottery?
"The reason why I buy pottery are three-fold:  1) I like to support local artists.  Working on pottery myself I appreciate the effort that it takes to create a piece of pottery.  2) I pick up pieces that intrigue me as to how they are made.  They serve as inspirations for my own work.  3) I just love a piece of pottery; that is, I either display it in my home or like to use it."
 
How did you acquire a Lisa York piece of pottery?
"I had seen Lisa’s work while she was at Hood College in Frederick, Maryland and really liked her pottery.  When I saw that she was giving a workshop at The Clay CoOp, a local pottery studio, I decided to attend.  She also had a small show at the venue and I bought my first Lisa pot, a dinner-size bowl, which I love and display on my fireplace mantle.  Subsequently, I purchased a teapot and a couple of cups.  I love Lisa’s atmospherically fired work.  I think how she hand alters her thrown pots and creates her unique surface textures and decorations works so well with the atmospheric firing processes – i.e., unique pots for a one-of-kind firing process.  This is very much in contrast to my work using an electric kiln firing to cone 5-6."

About Cissy:
"I’m a retired commercial interior designer.  After discovering the local community art center in 2002, making pottery has been a huge part of my life, artistically and socially." 
 
Do you collect handmade pottery?
"My home is filled with a mix of my own pottery, and pieces I’ve bought over the past 20 years."
 
Why do you buy handmade pottery?
"I love that it’s functional art and I get to enjoy it and use it every day."
 
How did you acquire a Lisa York piece of pottery?
"In August 2019 Lisa York held a soda workshop at the Community Art Center in Wallingford, PA, where I purchased three of her bud vases." 
 
What’s your favorite part about the Lisa York piece of pottery you own?
"They’re not round!  She changes symmetrical pots into ones that are lively, and full of movement by her altering/carving, and glazing techniques."  

About Marcus: Ceramic artist, potter, and teacher.

Do you collect handmade pottery?
 "I have 50 pieces ranging from Song Dynasty celadons to contemporary artists, former teachers, colleagues, and friends."
 
Why do you buy handmade pottery?
"Buying handmade pottery is the beginning of a relationship with the maker. The design, technique, and execution of the artist’s concept is a window into the personality and soul. The more I use a piece, the more it speaks to me, and the wider the variety of pots from an artist, the broader picture of their tastes, sensibilities, and impressions of their world.  I have pieces that I’ve owned for 20 years and I still learn something new from them. The handmade pots I own of a more historic nature ground me in a sense of ancient traditions, and give me a feeling of being connected to a ceramic genealogy that is very important to me, and from both I draw a great amount of inspiration and insight."
 
How did you acquire a Lisa York piece of pottery?
"I walked up to Lisa at a Hood College faculty show and said 'Lisa I have GOT to have this mug!'"