I want to thank you for visiting my website.  I started in the ceramics field as a young boy, working part-time for James Loso, a renowned potter in central Minnesota.  I spent over 10 years working with Jim Loso, and although we did not spend much time on the wheel together, just being around the studio allowed me to absorb the magic of ceramics.

James Loso
James Loso (1941-2012)

I was lucky enough to attend a high school that had a fantastic art department and took ceramics classes all 4 years.  My ceramics instructor, Dennis Hummel, was a great inspiration and left me with the indelible message of “quality, not quantity” when it came to making pottery.

Mixing bowl made at Apollo High School, 1981
Mixing bowl made at Apollo High School, 1981

I went on to college at St. Cloud State and took pottery classes for one year.  From there, I transferred to Arizona State University, and although I graduated with a degree in finance, I took pottery classes my entire time at A.S.U.

Vases made at Arizona State, 1984
Vases made at Arizona State, 1984
Raku Bowl made at Arizona State, 1985
Raku Bowl made at Arizona State, 1985

After graduating from college I started working in the mortgage banking industry and essentially spent the next 33 years helping families obtain the dream of homeownership.  While working in my business career, I would occasionally come back to my love of pottery.  In 2014, I started taking ceramics classes at Santa Rosa Junior College (SRJC) in preparation for my second career as a ceramic artist.

Raku Vase, SRJC, 2014
Raku Vase, SRJC, 2014

With the support of my wonderful wife Maureen, I have constructed a fantastic studio space and am blessed to be working in one of the most scenic places in the world, the wine country of Sonoma County.

I want to thank all of those people who supported me along the way, and although I can’t mention them all, I especially want to acknowledge my parents, Fran & Jim Landwehr, Jim Loso, Dennis Hummel, my wife Maureen and my son Conley.  A special thanks to everyone who has encouraged me in my life-long passion for ceramics.