Hale County
Pottery
According to Donna, she has always been amazed
“that just a piece of dirt can turn into something beautiful” and that “there
are so many beautiful trees and flowers” that “nature in the Black Belt has
really influenced” her art.
While living in Bonner’s Ferry, Idaho, in
the early 1990’s, Donna took a hand building class from a potter that told her
she should continue making pottery. She is inspired by beautiful items that are
handmade, although, after returning to Alabama, she took wheel throwing classes
that inspired her to continue throwing. She said she “was too busy” for a
period of fifteen years before “starting back” around 2011.
Materials that Donna uses include purchased clay, found objects
such as buttons, fabric, lace, and her hands, and various items that can be
used to make an “interesting mark”.
“I’ve moved my pottery studio into a spare bedroom in the house so
I can work later in the evenings. I fire in an electric kiln in an outside
building. I use stoneware clay firing to cone 6.”
Besides showing her work at Black Belt Treasures, Donna has her
own store - Bits of Earth - near Newbern, and recently opened an
Etsy shop.