After ten years of searching for her creative voice, Lorna Awalt’s functional pottery evolved to now embody her two passions - music and nature. During her quest to master the transformational qualities of clay, she almost always had music playing in the background. The rhythms and melodies became an aide to her frame of mind as well as the sometimes arduous chore of centering. Music, so much a part of her creative environment and practice, slowly began to creep into her work as well.

In these years of discovery, she started carving the surfaces of her pots, liking the repetitive process as well as the feeling of a carved piece in her hand after it was fired. She realized that the swirls of the carving often reflected the rhythms of the music that she was listening to. Lorna’s forms and carving also found inspiration from nature, which has always been a huge part of her life. Many of her teapots, especially, echo trees, birds and other natural life and therefore carry very personal meaning to her.

Lorna’s love of nature and flowers has also recently led her to the making of Flower Vessels. Her passion for gardening has steered her to create several different variations of vases and flower boxes to accommodate the treasures from her garden. A quest for the perfect vessel for the perfect bloom has been a time-consuming avenue for her different carving techniques as well.

Lorna has been determined to find just the right glazes and clay to work along with her carving and typically uses two clay bodies -- a white stoneware clay and also a dark stoneware. Using the two different bodies gives her the versatility to be able to make all kinds of functional pots. She uses an electric kiln and fires to Cone 6, which is a mid-range temperature. The glaze formulas that she uses have come from different sources: potter friends, Ceramics Monthly, and Clay Times, to name a few. Glaze testing is a continual process and will probably remain a life-long journey.

Lorna has shown her work in two solo shows, one at Clay Orbit in Cockeysville, and one during Tour de Clay at Live Baltimore in downtown Baltimore. She has had gallery representation in several galleries throughout Maryland and is often invited to participate in local art festivals and as well as Baltimore Clayworks’ annual Holiday Extravaganza. Her most recent show was at the Annapolis Yacht Club in July, 2007.