Kristy Jo Beber

Design captivates Kristy Jo Beber, and the designs she uses make her stoneware pottery distinctive. It’s common to find playful swirls, dots and lines on her mostly decorative pieces, which fascinate her followers.

“I have developed a unique style of ‘drawing’ glazes onto my pots,” Kristy Jo says. “Even seasoned potters are often intrigued enough with my pieces to ask questions about my process.”

Most of her work begins on the potter’s wheel and often gets altered or carved, with some pieces assembled from multiple parts. They are fired once, glazed and then fired again at more than 2,300 degrees, which gives them strength and durability.

Many potters mark the day they made their first sale as one of the best in their life. For Kristy Jo, it was a day in 2009 when she took delivery of her dream kiln.

“It was one of the most stressful, but most gratifying days of my clay career,” she recalls. “I had to rent a forklift, hire a guy to drive it, and then watch as my new kiln struggled to get in the garage.

“All the weight made the wheels of the forklift spin in the gravel driveway,” Kristy Jo explains. “When it finally got past that, it barely fit under the garage door! I smile about it now, but it was a nerve-racking day. She works like a dream, though, so it was all worth it.”

This artisan attributes her works’ unique combination of form and surfaces to the experimentation she’s done with both. She uses stoneware clay, for instance, to create a variety of surfaces.

“Working in clay provides a sort of therapy for me,” the Allen County artisan adds. “I love the soft, tactile quality and the connectedness I feel when working with the medium.”