Launched in 2005, WellesleyWeston Magazine is a quarterly publication tailored to Wellesley and Weston residents and edited to enrich the experience of living in two of Massachusetts' most desirable communities.
Issue link: https://wellesleywestonmagazine.epubxp.com/i/78488
artist profile "joyfully creating art" above: Three Wheel Thrown and Altered Cups, Porcelain, 5" high x 3" wide top right: Pair of Pouring Vessels, Wheel Thrown and Altered Porcelain, 5" high x 5" long x 2.5" wide bottom right: Wheel Thrown and Altered Porcelain Mug, 3.5" high x 3.5" wide quiet but powerful, and it never left me. I studied at a liberal arts college, earned a master's degree, and taught in a small public school. I married and had three children. My life was interesting and full, and I had achieved most of my goals. However, I had a deep longing, an unfulfilled love for the feel of the clay between my hands. I dabbled with some polymer clay at the kitchen table while I was working full time and having babies. But my creative spirit, that childhood spark, was demanding to be let free. Elizabeth sunk her hands back into a mound of clay when she moved to Wellesley, twenty-seven years after her first pottery class. This self-taught potter spent hours at the Potter's School and Shop in Needham (now the Gorse Mill Studios) throwing pots on the wheel. "It's like riding a bike; muscle memory from my days on the wheel at Meadowbrook Day Camp in Weston and at rec center art classes took over, " Elizabeth says of her venture back into pottery. 160 Twenty-eight years after the fateful pottery class, Elizabeth created a studio as part of her Japanese-inspired home renovation. Her home studio enables her to live her values—joyfully creating art while rais- ing a family. It also eliminates the hassles of commuting and enhances her ability to achieve work-life balance. "If I have just an hour, I can walk into my studio and mix a batch of glaze or trim a bowl." And thanks to the Internet, Elizabeth has been able to build a network of peer artists without sharing studio space—the typical way artists build community. Elizabeth creates functional and sculptural work in porcelain clay, mostly on the potter's wheel. She alters the forms while still pliable, creating organic and sensual pieces that express her dedication to family, nature, simplicity, and spirituality. Her functional pieces are designed for daily rituals such as eating favorite foods, displaying flowers, or savoring a cup of coffee or tea. As a busy mother, she cre- ates pieces that are dishwasher-safe and practical for everyday use. WellesleyWeston Magazine | fall 2012 PHO TOS BY ELIZABETH COHEN