The team at Humble Vessels Pottery is Hal and Barb Martin. Our studio is in Clinton, Ms. I (Hal) had wanted to try my hand at pottery for a long time and now, retired from my IT career, I have been able to explore this wonderful art form. What came as a wonderful surprise to me was my bride of 52 years would also enjoy this creative endeavor. Although she still practices as a licensed therapist, she makes opportunities to throw herself into glazing the forms I create. She enjoys the focused time of imagining what a piece could look like and the waiting for the kiln to cool after the intense heat to view the transformed pieces. It’s exciting to open the kiln and see your imagination come to life. Working with “dirt” has been part of our life together from the beginning. We have cultivated a vegetable garden our entire married life and now have a large organic garden, pick gallons of blueberries from our small patch, and raise chickens. Now, turning “dirt” into functional and decorative ceramic pieces is a transformative experience for both of us. We are made to seek beauty and to create beauty in all we do. Whether it is creating art, growing a tomato in the garden, enjoying friendship, as well as doing a job well. We are all able to be artisans of beauty.