Betina grew up in Oregon, studied languages and literature, and ended up

with BA in romance languages and an MS in geology. Latter she and her husband left to Tennessee, where she first started to take ceramic classes.

She said; "Clay appeals to me. I am fascinated by its properties in all its phases. Wet clay is limp and moldable; as it dries it becomes less malleable, but can still be carved. Once dry, clay resembles rock in many ways. It's brittle, but becomes like stone in the kiln. Each stage of this wonderful stuff must be treated differently.

I seem to need to hold the clay and feel it before I am comfortable actually making something. Functional ware that demands knowledge of and facility working with all phases of this medium catches my attention. Even seemingly totally nonfunctional pieces begin as vessels some are interactive. I use the wheel as one of many tools, and I enjoy encouraging clays with different properties to bind and work together."