Stephen loves clay for its simplicity & complexity. Clay offers endless innovations to experiment with shapes & surfaces & firing processes. He throws both stoneware & porcelain. Creating functional, simple pottery is what he's done for over forty years. He bases his forms on utility & beauty of form. Sometimes the design is spontaneously created on the wheel, while other times it stays in his mind for weeks completely formulated before he touches any clay.
Steve was introduced to pottery in high school art class where it was love at first sight. He then studied pottery at Alfred University in NY. His true skills were built and developed at Orion Stoneware in Sacramento, CA. He & his friend Paul eventually found their way back to Port Jefferson, NY where a business was born. Now Steve works from his home studio in Southampton, NY, under the name NightFire Pottery.