I have lived and worked in Washington DC on and off since 1986, both as a potter and a psychotherapist (to go to my counseling website, visit www.therapistdc.com ).

The son of American parents, I grew up in Beirut, Lebanon. As a child, I watched glass blowers in the villages of Byblos and Tyre, collected bits of Greek and Roman pottery and ate from pottery made in villages in the mountains. Hand crafted objects were part of my everyday life, and I was intrigued by the creative process involved.

In 1973 my family moved to Tehran, Iran, and my dad's work took us to India and Bangladesh. In Iran, I learned to appreciate the clean, intricate lines of Persian Islamic art. In India it was the art in everyday life that caught my eye: colorful silk saris worn by the women, the sensual curving lines of the Hindu deities, the simple terra cotta bowls which held the sweet curds we would buy from the vendors.

At 17 I returned to the US for college. The draw to work with my hands continued and after college I began to work with fiber. Spinning and hand-dying wool and other natural fibers became a passion, and through that I developed a friendship with Katherine Cobey. Katherine, a knitter of highly unusual pieces (wedding gowns from white trash bags, hand knit tents, a hand knit boat carrying shrouded bog people) introduced me to Holly Rosenfeld, and it was in Holly's studio where I sat down to a pottery wheel for the first time in the fall of 1986. After years of traveling and living all over the world, I felt like I had come home.

Holly taught me all the basics that I still practice as I throw. After two years with Holly I studied under Susan Greenleaf, who further developed my skills and aesthetic sense and taught me to fire the big gas kiln. In 1991 I left the DC area and moved to Boulder, Colorado, where I received my master's degree in counseling from Naropa University, and was lucky enough to work at the Boulder Potter's Guild. After graduation, I moved first to New York City, then back again, in 1997, to Washington DC where I divide my time between my counseling office and my studio.

My pottery can be seen at Teaism, where it's used for service ware and for sale in the gift shop, and at Finewares in downtown Takoma Park. Through Christmas, I'll be selling my pots at the new Western Market, in the Marie Reed School yard right off 18th Street in Adams Morgan, DC.

If you are interested in my work or interested in learning more about ceramics contact me here.