Red House Pottery

Jeffrey has worked with clay for 35 years. He began as an apprentice to Bay Area potter Denah Griffiths, herself a student of Marguerite Wildenhain at Pond Farm on the Russian River. Marquerite had a wide and enduring influence on potters up and down the west coast. In his five year apprenticeship with Denah he learned many of the same techniques, methods and philosophy of the craft taught at Pond Farm.

He earned his BA degree in art at Humboldt State University learning kiln design, kiln building, various firing techniques as well as clay and glaze formulation. Following school he worked for one year in a production ceramics factory as a jiggerman and thrower.

Throughout his 20's and 30's Jeffrey has built 11 different kilns both wood and gas fired with other potters and on his own. Updraft, crossdraft and downdraft designs including a small brick oven for bread and pizza.

In 1982 he was hired as a pottery instructor and craft shop director at Camp Norwester on Lopez Island. He was one of the founding members of Chimera Gallery on Lopez in 1986. A co-operative run by sixteen artists at the time. Chimera is a thriving artist run non-profit gallery as of 2010. In 1990 he purchased land and established Red House Pottery on the south end of Lopez.

He currrently produces work in high fired stoneware and porcelain and saggar fired decorative vases and bottles using local kelp as a fuming agent for color.

His work can be seen and purchased at Chimera Gallery on Lopez Island Wa, Anchor Art Space in Anacortes WA and at Crow Valley Pottery on Orcas Island, As well as at the Lopez Is. Farmers Market and at his Red House Pottery studio. Samples of his work can be viewed at redhousepottery.com on the web.