Pottery

Form and function  Jane Terry is a painter and a potter, but clay is her favorite medium.  "The joy of working in clay is that something someone would consider a piece of art is also functional".  

Her stoneware plates, bowls, pots and sculptural pieces are marked with a little fish, a kind of signature symbol she incises in the clay.  

Centering the clay  Potters often build objects using slabs of clay, or by forming and building up a piece as it sits on a work table.  Jane prefers working on the turning potter's wheel because of the meditative quality of that process.  

"You have to be able to focus your life in order to actually create the piece from a lump of clay to the finished article.  It's a process that demands you pay attention.  Books have been written about the art of centering.  You take the modest lump of clay and begin the process, you have to center it.  For a beginner that's the hardest part, to get that lump of clay spinning with you."  She favors a human-powered kick wheel over an electric wheel.  "You get directly involved.  It's more intimate, and you learn a few more lessons."  

Jane has her kiln and wheel set up in her home, which is a big improvement over working in a studio away from home.  "It's really fun to be able to get up in the morning, go into your studio with your cup of coffee and go to work".  

From ink to computers  Jane grew up in California, and started throwing pots in high school.  She worked as a graphic artist and paste-up artist for a design company.  She's seen the industry go from ink and wax and galleys to computers.  She did computer mapping as an engineering technician, but prefers the old-fashioned, hands-on style of graphic design.  She has also taught pottery and ceramics.  Currently Jane is employed at the Juneau-Douglas City Museum where she works with the administration, volunteers and visitors.  

She moved to Juneau three years ago, drawn by the natural beauty of the area.  She has two grown children.   

(907) 463-4633