[When I asked Patrick about his educational background, he replied]: Well, yes, I have a B.A. in fine art from Thiel College (Grandma - Noble's wife - also went to Thiel but didn't graduate). My junior year I attended the Art Institute of Pittsburgh for commercial art. I was just a so-so student but mostly enjoyed pottery (it was like magic to turn a ball of nothing into something beautiful).
After college my activities in art were basically nonexistent due to the need to provide for my family. I got married and served 4 years in the Air Force before I started my 31 years as a letter carrier. We had a boy and a girl and lived 8 years near Buffalo (N.Tonawanda) and 8 years near Pittsburgh (Murrysville) before finally moving "back to the farm" in 2003.
Here, after making our nest, I finally had the place and time to pursue pottery with my own clay. It wasn't until about 2011 that I really started to dive into it.
Now, after years of "messing around" with getting a studio set up and experimenting with kilns and methods I'm ready to retire in January, 2018, and get to work. I've had contact with my college pottery professor (Ron Pivovar) and he says my native clay is terrible to work with so I mix it with 49% commercial clay (this way I can still say my pots are mostly made of my clay).
I've made a couple of hundred personalized small pots to give to my customers after I retire as thank you gifts and in the process learned from my mistakes. For now my plans are to just make small pots where you can physically see and feel the rawness of the clay (to include the fine stones not processed out of the clay).
I want to portray as many odd, organic, and natural shapes, forms, and textures as I can think of. I'd like to make these works mostly as unique, affordable gifts--as opposed to dinnerware like every other potter.
I won't be in it to make a lot of money - hopefully enough to cover my costs. Time will tell how it all works out. Froglegs Pottery will be my studio name.
