Wendy Wrenn Werstlein
Virginia

Porcelain, cone 10 oxidation gas fired
Functional
9.25"w x 5.5"l x 4.5"h

About the Artist
I came to clay as a second vocation. For ten years, I taught high school biology, working to cultivate in my students a desire to explore the world while encouraging scientific inquiry. I find these two skills serve me just as well in the studio.
I eventually left teaching and returned to the classroom as a student at Haywood Community College, where I completed an Associate’s Degree in Professional Crafts. From there, I moved to Floyd, Virginia, and apprenticed with studio potter Silvie Granatelli.
I now live and work in my studio/home on the Blue Ridge Parkway, building a life as a studio potter in Floyd, Virginia.

Artist Statement
The flow and line patterns influence me in nature, and I explore these patterns and forms in my pots. My work is moving towards a more organic appearance, often altered away from the perfect circle of the wheel. I seek to infuse my work with a sense of movement, the soft stroke of the hand giving comfort and thanks through use. Through these forms and patterns emerge lines of communication. I am learning that the communication of pottery happens most often in the absence of language. As a social species, we communicate and exchange information through touch, visual expressions, and body language - all these voices are present in handmade objects. You hear the voices through your eyes, touch, and emotional response to shape, size, color, and feel.

*Teapots that are purchased will remain on display in the gallery for the duration of the exhibition, through September 14, 2026. 
After the show closes, teapots will be carefully packed and shipped by September 28, or they may be picked up at the gallery.