Lori Buff, Neighbor

I fell in love with pottery when I was a junior in high school. This love of creating clay forms led me to decide that I was going to be a potter when I grew up. I was accepted at The New York State College of Ceramics at Alfred University based on my portfolio work.

Little did I know, I would never grow up.

After leaving school, I traveled around the country in a 1971 Pinto with extended stays in New York, Virginia, Wisconsin and Birmingham. I eventually settled in Atlanta, GA where I tried for 27 years to live the life expected of me, working corporate jobs and such but something was always missing.

Then my partner gave me a gift certificate for Mudfire Clayworks and Gallery. I could throw pots for one month, which ended up being a year. Since I knew my days in corporate America were coming to an end I took that time to improve and start selling my work. Soon I was teaching at Mudfire and selling my pottery at various art festivals, galleries and specialty stores in the Atlanta area.