"I recall that when I was very small, before ten years of age, I was intriqued by seeing my mother and my older sisters decorate pottery. It was really neat to watch my father cast the pottery in molds, using runny clay that looked like something you would get from the bottom of a creek. It was almost magical to me, to take this mud of the earth and convert it into these beautiful painted and glazed pottery pieces. I remember my mother working hours on end painting the pots. She did remarkable work. I remember her painting everything from Indians to ocelots. And it was all so beautiful. I wanted to emulate it, as I admired her skills very much.

"So, starting at a very young age, I gave it a shot. I remember starting on tiles. I was really into cartoons as a child and I quess my parents thought a cast tile would be sort of like a cartoon block for me. The tools we used were difficult for my young hands to master, but I really had fun trying to make different cartoon characters on the tiles. It was great! "As I got older, my skills improved and eventually I tried my hand at slip painting. With this new technique, I began painting animals and whimsical designs on pots. I even experimented with this neat golden paint. It was really a lot of fun."

Becky was the only artist in the family to pursue and finish a fine arts degree. Shortly after college, she married her husband Paul, a member of the U.S. Navy stationed in Hawaii. Her distance from home and her graphic design business do not allow her as many opportunities as she would like to work on new vases. But when she does fly home to the Midwest, the pottery allows her to take a creative vacation from the world of graphic design.

Here are some samples of Becky's work: