By Rosemary Schalek
Let me introduce Lola – in her own words!
“Playing with Clay!! What wonderful words! For those of us who are completely obsessed with creating objects with our hands, it can’t get much better than living in Laguna Woods. We have an amazing studio right here. It gives us an opportunity to feed our obsession and the art that is produced here is spectacular!
I started my love affair with clay in my mid 50’s, much later than many people. After my kids grew up and left the nest, I went to College of the Desert in Palm Desert and enrolled in beginning ceramics. It took me a long time, lots of classes, and lots more practice to get even a little skillful with clay. I was fortunate to meet Jackie Thompson there and she helped guide me through the finer nuances of working on the wheel and hand building with clay. When I was required to move to Orange County, Jackie told me about this wonderful community that had a fabulous studio and I was sold.
I make functional ceramics, cups, plates, bowls, and pitchers. I get inspiration from classes, galleries, and the internet. I love taking my grandson to art galleries and talking with him about the art. I really enjoy taking classes at Saddleback, I have a superb teacher in Kathryn Stovall-Dennis; and get a lot of inspiration from the other students in the class. It is amazing how we feed off each other and elevate our work to the next level, both in class and at Potters and Sculptor studio.
I grew up in Southern California, was fortunate to live in many diverse climes, including the valleys, the mountains, the desert and now the beach area. Each location has its own special beauty, and each influences my work.
