I grew up on my grandparents’ dairy farm in north-central Pennsylvania, riding horses with Mom and collecting rocks, bark, and dirt. My Dad lived on the Hudson River near the Adirondack Park, NY where I spent holidays and summers collecting more rocks, bark and dirt.
Tim and I married in 1987. We moved to Columbia, SC where our first child, Alex, was born. I fell in love with ceramics when I began studying at the University of South Carolina in 1989. We made Massachusetts our home in 1990. Our family has since grown to include two more children Shelby and Lily.
Over the years I studied at the UMASS-Amherst and attended clay classes and workshops at the Worcester Center for Crafts. That’s where my clay met the wood kiln and I’ve never looked back. I’ve been an instructor at the Worcester Center for Crafts since 2004 until the recent pause in operations. I have participated in juried arts festivals throughout southern New England, New York and Pennsylvania.
I hand make my work from porcelain and stoneware clay. They are fired in a wood burning kiln in 14 to 18 hour firings. The glazes used are modern adaptations of ancient Asian recipes of celadon, shino, and tenmoku iron glazes, safe for use with food and beverages. It is a quietly contemplative, multi stage process inspired by history, hard work and the beauty of nature combined with the surprises of discovering something new to learn every day. These pots are individual, works of art, intended for use as part of your daily life.
© 2009-2014 Lori Mader Cedar Swamp Pottery, LLC. All rights reserved. Photos by Lori Mader / Website by Sixteen-thirty WebDesign, Timothy J. Mader - webmaster.
