Hi I’m Joan!
I took my first class in wheel thrown pottery when I was 27. I knew the second I was able to center the clay that I wanted to be a Potter. It took me over 30 years to realize this dream but, I made it. I am The Closet Potter of Ouray, Colorado. My studio started in a large closet in our home but it has since taken over about half of the house. That’s where the name came from, “The Closet Potter”. I have a very supportive husband who just wants me to enjoy my passion. Without him, none of this would have happened.
I live in what, I think, is the most beautiful small town in the U.S., Ouray, Colorado. It is in the southwestern part of the State and is surrounded by huge mountains which inspire me every day.
I am technically disabled with 24 screws and 2 rods in my spine so I can only work part time. In that time I try to produce as much pottery as my body will allow. A day without making pots is not as happy as when my creativity can flow. I believe in the phrase, “Do what you love and the money will follow”. I also have my own phrase that I have told myself for many years, “You can have anything in life if you want it bad enough”. Sometimes it takes many years but I have the life I dreamed about as a young woman. I am now 72 years old but I love to think young.
I make what I feel like making in any given day and I hope that someone will want to give a piece of my work a forever home.
