When I was a child, I had a book called Deegie and the Fairy Princess. Deegie made clay animals to be his friends and a fairy princess brought them to life. This always stuck with me and is probably my inspiration for the creations I make.

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My background is in graphic design and cartoon illustration, which carries over into my clay characters.

 

Working with clay is messy - kind of like when your parents let you play in the mud as a child. I like it. With hand building and glazing, the final result is always a surprise. My kitchen is almost always a mess, with tools, glaze bottles, and clay everywhere.

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These characters start out as a big lump of clay. Some are completely built by hand and others have bodies that are thrown on a wheel with features added after that.

 

Have a look around and see if there's a buddy you'd like to take home.

                                                      —Karen Alley

                                                      Knoxville, Tennessee