The Pottery
Handcrafted Clay by Joyce Payne
wildlife2@gci.net

Joyce Payne
Potter

I was born into a family of creative people on both my maternal and fraternal sides and began painting and drawing at an early age. It wasn’t until attending the University of Texas at El Paso (UTEP) that I found my love of clay. I studied under John C. Arnold at UTEP for four years learning the arts of design, pottery production, glazing, and firing.

Concurrently with my studies at UTEP I was part of a cooperatively owned pottery studio producing functional production ware for fairs and shows and commission work. The cooperative eventually broke up and I pursued a life as a free lance artist doing various projects such as product design, brochure and advertising design, and the typesetting and layout of a local weekly newspaper.
After ten years of free lance, I set my goals on pursuing a Master’s Degree in Science (MS) in a plant related field. Once I started studying at New Mexico State University my attention was quickly drawn to the field of plant/insect interactions and biological control of agricultural pests. I received my MS and went on to work for a consulting firm in Alaska for eight years.

My work as a senior biologist in the field of consulting brought me to Juneau, Alaska in 2003. The beauty of the area soon had my creative thoughts flowing and I decided to return to clay for a livelihood. I built a studio in my home and started The Pottery in 2004. At the present time, I am a full time potter and no longer work as a biologist.

My current work focuses on functional pottery ranging from large crocks to tea mugs. I am in the process of developing a line of porcelain pots that will meld my love of clay and the plant and animal world of Alaska into one expression. I work in white stoneware, porcelain, and an earthy red stoneware. The pottery is fired in an electric kiln to Cone 5, approximately 2135 degrees F.