I first started making pottery when I was a second semester junior at Luther College in Decorah, Iowa.  I knew early on I was involved with something I would be doing for a very long time.  It was during that time I was  introduced to the pottery and teachings of Marguerite Wildenhain, a Bauhaus trained potter. I would go on to study with Marguerite at her school, Pond Farm, located  in Guerneville, California.  Her wisdom and inspiration had a profound effect on the direction my life would take.

 

I met Judy at Luther, ironically, in a pottery class. We married shortly after graduating and moved to Crystal Lake, IL, where I started my first pottery and Judy began a rewarding  career teaching eighth grade language arts. In 1979 we went to Door County,WI. to try our hand at operating a pottery and gallery there.  In the beginning, Judy would spend summers in Door County and return to C.L. when school started in the fall, but as our business grew more and more demanding, she gave up her teaching career and we became permanent residents of Door County.

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Since the beginning of Gills Rock Pottery many pots have been made, and we are now joined by a talented and skillful staff. As our work has evolved and the business has grown, so has the number of customers we've come to count as friends.    

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It's our hope that the craftsmanship, hard work, and passion, that we put into our pots, will come through to those who use them and live with them. As Marguerite said..."nowhere is beauty more important than in the objects we see and touch every day." 

It's our hope that our business is itself a work of art, and that a visit to GRP will be a rewarding and enriching experience.

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For us, even after all these years,the best part of our job is a day at work and the relationships we've built with those who come into our gallery.

                                        -Thor and Judy                   

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