My work invites touch, like a stone plucked from a riverbed. I love pots that are smooth in the hand but have a rugged, natural beauty. I observe a constant erosion and evaporation that takes place in my daily environment. I strive for layers of visual depth combining sheen, matte and crackled surfaces to recall this geological wearing. I begin my day with tea; boil the water, strain, pour and savor. That rhythm carries throughout my day whether chopping onions or wedging clay. Make something, use it, let it inform your life, make more. Michael Ashley grew up on a farm in Green County MO, where he explored the rivers and streams of the Ozark Mountains. He graduated from College of the Ozarks with a BA in Painting and Ceramics then moved to Tachi, Taiwan where he did a one year pottery residency at Tainan National University for the Arts. In 2010 he graduated from the University of Mississippi with an MFA in Ceramics. He has taught at Missouri State University, the New York State College of Ceramics at Alfred University and Tyler School of Art Temple University in Philadelphia PA.