"My fascination with ceramics began when I was just a little girl about five years old. I liked to watch Mom and Dad working on different vases in the basement of our house on 61st Street in Kansas City. But I didn't have the courage to actually try it until I was about in third grade. My first few pieces were kind of primitive, but I had fun making them. By the time I was thirteen, my skills as an artist had improved significantly. Since cats were my favorite animals, I made a bunch of pots with various kitty designs on them. My parents took these kitty pots to the APEC pottery show in Illinois. They sold very well! What a feeling that was--to have that many people like my artwork enough to buy it! From then on, I was hooked. I never imagined that I could have fun and make money at the same time!
" Over the course of the next few years, Mom and Dad experimented with several different materials and techniques. Since I prefer realism in my artwork, I really wanted to master the engobe painting technique that Mom used to produce all of her beautiful portraits of people and animals. It took lots and lots of practice to get used to the quirks of the medium. Needless to say, my first twenty or so pieces left something to be desired. I still cringe when I look at some of them. But with lots of determination (some would call it stubbornness), all of the practice did pay off and I eventually got the technique to coincide with my artistic vision. I experimented with all kinds of subject matter--everything from angels to zebras.
"With all of us using our creative energies on the pottery, the garage was starting to overflow with good Rozart pieces by the late eighties. This made us realize that we had another big hurdle to overcome: what is the best way to market our pottery? This was the one aspect of our business we couldn't seem to master. Because our work is so different from most of today's ceramic artwork, people don't really understand it. People who collect the old art potteries like Rookwood and Weller are more familiar with the techniques we use. It should be marketed as an art form, but we have always sold it better at antique shows and malls just for this reason. Fortunately, today's technology is starting to open up all kinds of new possibilities and opportunities for us. It really is an exciting time for our company and for myself as we continue to produce some incredible pieces and be able to show them to an ever increasing number of people."
Currently, Cindy lives near the Plaza in Kansas City with her two children Emily and Jacob. She has earned a bachelor's degree in mathematics which has proved useful in her job as a tax preparer for H & R Block. Crafts of all kinds are a major addiction for her. In addition to the pottery, Cindy enjoys making polymer clay jewelry, sewing, painting, parchment craft and just about anything else.
Here are some samples of Cindy's work:
