Danielle Critelli

I started taking classes at my neighborhood’s pottery studio in the summer of 2017, encouraged by a friend to explore creative outlets. It happened to be right before a major career transition, and weekly pottery classes became my place to zone out. It still continues to provide me space to listen inwardly and be okay with taking risks. I work primarily with slab-building, and love the freedom this tactic provides to shape clay into almost any shape or type of form. As a hand builder, I have to rely on trusting my hands to know the amount of pressure or delicateness to join clay together or smooth out surfaces. Over the years, I have moved between focusing on function and precision to looser forms and highlighting seams. I love being able to bring imaginations into real, functional pieces. Working with clay has helped me accept mistakes and pivot when ideas don’t work out. I hope my pieces give others the joy and peace that I experience during the making process!