My name is Cole Adams, I'm 25 and from Stoughton Wisconsin. I currently reside in La Crosse Wisconsin and work as a firefighter for the City Of Lacrosse. 

 

I first got introduced to pottery when I took a pottery class during summer school when I was young. I wasn’t very good at the time but the effort was still there. All throughout my K-12 education we would have projects in art class that involved clay. I would get very excited about getting my hands on the clay. I don’t know what it was that drew me towards clay, but it always fascinated me. Once I got into high school I heard that they offered a ceramics class. This caught my attention because I remembered taking classes while in summer school and thought that it would be fun to get back on the wheel. I ended up taking a ceramics class every semester of high school. I moved up through the different levels of the class, from beginner to advanced. I got to share my knowledge and skill of ceramics with other students and I think this helped me to hone my skills as a potter. High school is also where I met my ceramics teacher Mr.B. He would always challenge me with different forms to make and task me with different skills such as: loading kilns, mixing glazes, and wedging clay just to name a few. These skills that he taught me would come in handy when I decided to take a ceramics class my second semester at UW- La Crosse. 

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  For the short time that I was at UW- La Crosse I got to know my ceramics instructor, Karen Terpstra, very well. She would always challenge me to try new things and to think out of the box, always wanting me push myself until I failed. This motivation helped me to become a better potter and taught me to challenge myself. She is very knowledgeable when it comes to pottery and being able to study under her was an eye opening experience. 

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  After I left UW- La Crosse to pursue a career in firefighting, I knew that I still wanted to do pottery. This is when I decided to put together a home studio. The purpose of the home studio is to give me a place where I can still make pots and improve upon my skills. The studio was slowly put together over a few months as I obtained tools, a wheel, a kiln, glaze, and clay. The thing that has helped me the most is spending time on the wheel making pots. Practice makes perfect. The more I can get on the wheel and fail, the more I can learn from my mistakes and improve on my skills. 

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  I have been doing ceramics for about 7 years now. All of the experience and information that I have gathered during my years of pottery has helped me to start my own small business. When I say small business, I mean a very small business. I wanted to start my business because my family liked to buy my pots and they thought that others might enjoy them too. I started by building a stock of pots so I had enough to sell. Once I had that, I created a logo for myself along with business cards and social media accounts to get my name out.  Having a small business where I can share my pots with people is great but also being able to share my knowledge of pottery with people is great too. 

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I enjoy making pieces that people can use everyday. You will see many different designs and techniques that I work with. You will also see new techniques that I am experimenting with. I like to try new things and make pottery that is useful, but also aesthetically pleasing to the eye. 

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Thank you for visiting my website and I hoped you learned a little more about me!