The earth and how we interact with it is a strong influence in Laurie’s life and her ceramic art. She grew up in southern California spending time in its beautiful mountains, beaches and deserts. The first vehicle she drove was a tractor. In the fall, she would pick apples in the local orchards.  She rode horses and plowed fields.  In German, her name is translated as "earth person.” 

With this strong earth influence, it was not a surprise that when Laurie went searching for a creative outlet from her legal career, clay was the medium that captured her heart.  From her first class, she was attracted to the tactile nature of both the making and using of ceramic forms.  She also enjoys the physical aspects of the medium, such as stoking a wood kiln, where she gets to recapture the tomboy nature of her youth.

Laurie’s vessels are informed by a variety of inspirational sources. Her early exposure to nature and agriculture are evident in the organic shapes she creates.  Laurie is also an avid gardener.  The time she spends in her garden is time spent gathering visual cues that find their way into her fluid vases, baskets, pitchers, bowls and cups. 

Laurie’s travels are another significant inspiration for her work.  Whether it be the colors of the Tuscan landscape or the arches of Mediterranean architecture she draws upon the textures of other cultures as source material. 

Laurie credits pottery with helping her properly align her life priorities and being able to “stop and smell the roses”.  Growing up in a working class family, she was steered toward a professional life; like most parents they wanted her to do and have more than they did.  While Laurie achieved this goal -- making partner at a San Francisco law firm -- she knew something was missing.  Where was the fun?  Where was the whimsy?  Today, she finds that whimsy in her pots. “I want people to smile and maybe even chuckle with joy when they see and use my pots.  When they do, I know I have been a successful potter”, she says of her dancing bottles (or ewers), baskets and oval centerpieces.

Laurie is an associate artist in the Art League’s ceramic department, after being a student for many years. She has exhibited in nationally juried shows in California, Virginia,  Minnesota, Missouri and Texas.  She works in stoneware and porcelain and finds herself increasingly drawn to how gas and wood fired kilns, with their swirling flames, accentuate the organic style of her vessels.