About the Artist

Born in 1953 in Oklahoma, Dawn is the second oldest of nine children. Always interested in art, she got her BFA degree in 1975 from the University of South Florida. Although Fashion Design had been her goal, she was lured into the world of clay after discovering its versatility. 

As a struggling artist, she designed business cards, painted logos on vehicles, painted billboards from a fork lift, and made hanging clay baskets for a tropical nursery. But the income was low and slow, so she returned to school and earned her RN in Labor and Delivery nursing. When her last son was born, she started back with clay part-time.

Over the past 23 years, she has developed her own style that is constantly evolving, but her pieces are usually recognizable by their deep impressions and wonderful textures. Each piece is one of a kind, and made with stoneware clay -- some of it dug locally in Florida. She makes functional pieces that can go in the oven and her glazes are food-safe. She has won numerous prizes and ribbons for her work and was featured in Wiregrass Magazine.

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Wheel image by Tim Skipper of Tim Skipper Photography. All others images  are used with permission from Dawn Prietz.