Branch Platter

Earning a degree in Fine Arts from the University of Texas, Austin led to a lifelong appreciation of the importance of art in world history. I received Masters Degree in History and taught both history and art during my "first" career. Upon retirement, I enrolled in a pottery course and immediately fell hard for the tactile and manipulative qualities of the medium. I have attended workshops at nationally known crafts centers Haystack, in Maine, studying with Cynthia Bringle, Lisa Orr, and Sequoia Miller, as well as Mudfire, in Atlanta, Georgia with Diana Fayt, and the Dallas Center for Creative Arts with San Francisco artist, Christa Asaad. In addition, I co-founded the Bosque Valley Artisan Guild in rural Central Texas. I now live on a ranch and maintain a pottery studio drawing inspiration from the natural beauty of the surrounding prairie providing the name of for my work, Prairie Pottery. Although I have used a variety of clays, firing methods, a techniques I am currently creating primarily functional tableware using food safe, oven proof, dishwasher safe glazes. I also build a number of sculptural candle sticks ,wine coolers, and vases some of which employ an alternative firing technique called raku. My pieces are in a number of private collections and are often purchased for special occasions such as weddings, birthdays, and anniversaries.