Nestled in the rolling hills near Chatham’s Bear Creek is Inspired Earth Pottery. There, ceramic artist Lynn Flyer, responding to her surrounding natural beauty, creates her own world of flowers, butterflies, dragonflies, birds, and other delights in the form of functional pottery. She has been seriously making pottery for about 12 years. She and her Electrical Engineer husband moved here from Ohio in 2001.
Lynn previously worked in retail management and as a decorating consultant. “One of my most satisfying positions was consulting job training for people with disabilities,” she notes. “It was rewarding to know that I had skills that actually helped.” She taught pottery for a few years at Randolph Community College.
Lynn has always had artistic interests. “I dabbled with many media — watercolors, batik, seasonal wreaths,” she recalls. “Ceramics is my favorite”
Lynn believes that clay provides a tactile connection between the artist and the medium that is quite unique. There are infinite possibilities for creating forms and visual interest, while presenting many challenges to solve throughout the process,” she explains. “I enjoy making more complex pieces with multiple parts, occasionally incorporating thrown components and altering the basic clay slab.” She decorates the surface of her work with impressed designs using a variety of texture tools and paints them with underglaze. “I apply a watered-down underglaze to the relief of the texture design and wipe away the excess from the rest of the surface,” she explains. “This leaves the underglaze in the lines of the stamped area. I use brightly colored underglazes to paint the raised details of the texture design.”
Lynn’s pronounced use of line and the nature themes produce a wonderful organic sense to her pottery pieces, yet they feel comfortable and utilitarian. “I hope that people will smile and enjoy actually using my pottery,” she exclaims.
Lynn’s art is available at Mission Pottery and More in Lexington, The Soap Lady in Jamestown, on Etsy and on her website. For more information, visit Lynn Flyer’s Chatham Artist’s Guild gallery
page.
