From the first moment Larry Allen saw vessels formed on the potter’s wheel, he was fascinated. To this day Allen still has not forgotten the fascination he first felt.Allen has exhibited and sold my work throughout the United States. All the pottery work from start to finish is done solely by Allen.All vessels are wheel-thrown, which is the process of forming clay vessels on the potter’s wheel. The technique he uses for decorating pots is called sgraffito which means to scratch away and reveal what is underneath. After each vessel is thrown and allowed to stiffen (leather hard) it is coated with a colored slip (a liquid clay solution). Designs are carved into the surface, revealing the clay vessel. This sophisticated method of incising leather hard clay is particularly well suited for intricately defined detail and early examples of this technique can be found in the ancient Greek vases.The designs that Allen works with now are architectural in form and mostly influenced by Native American and African motifs. He was also affected greatly by the 9/11 tragedy and inspired by the nation uniting itself around one cause. This inspired him to develop the “Unity” design which repeats itself on various pottery shapes and forms. Allen knew that that moment of unity expressed by our congressional leaders was only temporary therefore he felt the need to remind people that UNITY is what it’s all about.