I've been working with clay since the Fall of 1996, when I took my first Ceramics class at Union University in Jackson, Tennessee.  After graduating from Union with a BA in Art, I went on to graduate school at Mississippi College in Clinton, Mississippi to earn a MFA, which I completed in 2002, and taught as an adjunct instructor there for two years. In 2004 I opened Spero Pottery in my hometown of Corinth, Mississippi to begin working as a full time potter.  

My enjoyment in working with clay comes mainly from the limitless possibilities for expression provided by the medium itself.  I believe there is presence and poetry in a handmade object when done well and it is that quality that I desire to communicate to the user. I do not feel limited by making utilitarian pieces, since these provide the most direct connection to those who use them, but I also find myself continually drawn to the sculptural and conceptual attributes of clay and hope to continue to explore them in both utilitarian and non-utilitarian pieces. I am currently firing work in cone 6 oxidation, while also doing some raku and pit-firing when possible. 

“Spero”, (pronounced like “sparrow”), is a Latin word which means “to hope”. This name was chosen not only because I use a sparrow as a signature on my pieces, but because hope is such a central idea to my work and my life. Scripture uses sparrows or birds in several instances to convey the intense care of God over us. This has always been a great source of hope to me, and my desire is that when someone drinks from my cups or eats from my bowls they will be reminded of this hope as well. I can think of no greater Truth to communicate through my work than that.