Rocky Mann / Studio Potter

In the spring of 1966 the father of my best friend invited me to sit at his potter’s wheel. On that day I fell in love with clay and the potter’s life. After art school and a short apprenticeship in Denmark, I set up my own studio in Maine in 1971, the heyday of the American Crafts movement. For twenty years I made pots, went to trade shows and sold my work through galleries in the US and Japan. Eventually I burned out and lost the joy of working with clay. I felt I was just repeating pots to satisfy the wholesale market. I quit for five years. In 1996, after building a new house and studio, I returned to clay and promised myself that, above all, I would have fun.

My work now revolves around using clay as a canvas. Making Raku pottery and Saggar Ware pottery. I spend 30% of my time making the pots and 70% of my time decorating them. I use images from nature to create graphic patterns and themes on the pottery. No two pieces are alike. The images are always changing as I refine them. And I am having fun.