Jan Schachter

I am a potter.  I started working in clay when I was 4 years old.

I graduated from the University of Massachusetts, Amherst with a B.S. in Microbiology in 1963.  I returned to clay part time shortly after that and attended numerous classes at Greenwich House Pottery, New York City, Old Church Cultural Center, Demerest, New Jersey and Clay Art Center, Port Chester, New York.  In 1977, I was the founding director of The Gallery at Hastings on Hudson, a non-profit municipal gallery.  I was also a founding member of the Hudson River Potters, a potters mutual support group.  My family and I moved to California in 1978, and I have been a full time potter ever since.  I have had pots in numerous national & international exhibitions & competitions.

I enjoy making pots for everyday use; each is a subtle variation of a form  - usually created in a series. I am a perfectionist (as much as the process allows) and am constantly in search of the perfect surface and ideal form while striving to create pots that have life and vitality.  I love having the opportunity to fire in a wood kiln and make special work for that (usually porcelain) - which takes advantage of the ash & heat.

In addition to being a potter, I am an advocate for crafts and the life of a craft person.  I was on the Board of Directors of the Craft Emergency Relief Fund from 1992-1997.  I am currently on the Boards of the Association of Clay & Glass Artists of California (I was president from 1991-1993), the Palo Alto Art Center Foundation and the Advisory Board of Watershed Center for the Ceramic Arts.