Natalie Gillihan Scafidi is the artisan-owner of Lake Q Pottery, founded in 2006 along the shores of Lake Quinsigamond in Worcester, MA. Using native Massachusetts clays, Natalie draws on science and mythology to create distinctively offbeat ceramic story pendants. To capture the energy and rawness of the images which inspire her work, Natalie draws her design directly onto a slab of plaster with no preliminary sketching. She then spends several hours to several days carving the design into the plaster. The carving is then used as a mold for each piece, which is fine-tuned with additional hand-carving and finish work. The piece is then fired and glazed multiple times to achieve an expressive painterly finish. Once the piece is complete, Natalie lives with the design for a time before pausing to capture its story on paper to bring to you.