Jane Warsaw grew up in New York City. She has had three careers: professional musician and music teacher; software engineer; potter and sculptor. Jane became fascinated with hand made pottery on vacations and business trips to Europe, the Far East and the American Southwest. She owes a great deal to her teacher and mentor master potter Ray Boswell of Bostree Studio, Sugar Loaf, New York. She moved to Las Vegas, New Mexico in June 2006. Jane teaches music and pottery classes at the United World College USA in Montezuma, New Mexico and in her private
studio. Classic forms and whimsical sculpted handles are signatures of her work.
Spirituality and creativity are vital forces of life often de-emphasize
d in our daily working lives. All too frequently we are overly concerned about our past or our future instead of living life as a string of moments. There is no better exercise in staying in the moment than to work with a piece of clay on the wheel. The potter squeezes clay between the hands moving it upward, downward, inward and outward to fashion the lump into the desired object. When clay is centered on the wheel, it is well positioned to work with the centrifugal force that constantly compels the clay outward. This phenomenon continues to challenge the potter to keep the pot perfectly centered as the wheel rotates and the clay is transformed. This act of constant and subtle re-centering is a perfect metaphor for keeping your life in balance.
New Mexico is a magical place to do clay work. There is an awareness, a
n appreciation of hand made pottery and ceramic art similar to what can be found in Japan, China and England. By working with our hands to create functional wares that are used every day in the home, we promote the good
life; being in communion with nature. We have the endless blue sky, the high desert, deep and ancient spiritual traditions to inspire us in our work. The impact this place has on my work cannot be put into words. I don't think I will ever want to live and work anywhere else.