Karen Flynn

Karen here, I'm the kiln manager at the studio. It's my job to load and unload the kiln. It's a bit like doing jigsaw puzzles, which I also enjoy. The best part of my job is opening a glaze fire and seeing the beautiful pots and sculptures. I love seeing everyone's latest work, with new glaze combinations, shapes and textures. I also mix glazes, keep a good supply of underglazes, assist Maria with things that need to be done, and post on our facebook page.

I began my ceramics adventure about 5 years ago, when I started working at Red Wing Pottery (as a graphic designer). I started taking the clay classes they offered and bringing clay home to play with. I was hooked in a few months. I had taken pottery classes in college, but those mainly focused on the wheel. I found that I enjoy hand building much more than wheel throwing. All my current work is hand built, although Maria is pretty determined to get me started on the wheel. She's a good teacher. If anyone can teach me, she could.

I create functional pottery, as well as sculpture. I started carving designs into my work in the fall of 2018 and that has quickly become my favorite technique (known as sgraffito). Usually I work with white clay and a black underglaze, which gives a bold graphic look. When I get tired of doing that I get lots of colors out and do something wild like a hedgehog in a garden of colorful flowers. There are so many things you can do with ceramics, I have not even begun to explore the possibilities.

I teach summer camps, adult classes, and some special ed clay classes. I love seeing the joy on peoples' faces when they make something they like. Clay is a wonderful, tactile learning experience. Being a part of a community studio is great. It's wonderful to see people's work grow over time as they acquire new skills and try new things. We've all made our share of mistakes and encourage each other to try again and learn something new. Working with Marie/Maria is great fun. There's always plenty of laughter and lots of encouraging words. Now if I could just keep their names straight!