"I remember Mom and Dad first learning to make pottery through a class given sometime in the sixties. I was very young at that time, but I do remember some early pieces being on display in our home in the Westport area of Kansas City. I even tried my hand at some simple pieces, including a baby bird ashtray with bright colored glaze.

"When I was a young teen, I had no way of earning money so I would help Dad with the pottery. By this time we had moved to the Brookside area in Kansas City and the pottery business was now in the basement of our new house. I loved art and painting, and decorating pottery proved to be a nice artistic outlet for me. I especially worked hard on the Twainware line. It was similar to Weller's Dickensware line. Professional artists did the original designs which we would transfer to the vases by etching the design outlines and painting in the details. It was a wonderful way to some make extra money.

"I also learned how to do free-hand painting on the pottery. I especially like to do people and animals."

Anne currently works as a medical technologist and has earned a black belt in karate. She also enjoys crafts and collecting, interests she shares with her husband, Gary, and her two boys, John and Jamie. Her family lives in Shawnee, KS, a fifty minute drive from the pottery business located in Excelsior Springs. She doesn't have as much time as she would like to work on the pottery, but does manage to sneak up for an afternoon every now and then to put her creative energy to work.

Here are some samples of Ann's work: