Bluffton pottery artist spins her wheels in peace

DANIEL CLIFTON • PICAYUNE EDITOR

BLUFFTON — Two of the most common questions Kathleen Riordan hears from Metroplex-area friends are “You live where? In a what?”

“Yeah, they couldn’t believe I’d moved out here and, you know, live in a trailer,” said the Bluffton resident as she etched a flower pattern on a clay coffee mug. “You know, I can’t really believe it either. This was just a place we were going to stay until we found a house.”

Now, about five years later the pottery artist and her husband, Gary, wouldn’t have it any other way. While it’s a big difference from the corporate setting of her old Dallas-area home, the manufactured home that sits on the shores of Lake Buchanan (when it’s full) with its pottery studio has become more than a house.

Riordan has created a life that celebrates creation at every turn of her pottery wheel. She admitted she never set out to be a potter, but sometimes starting over gets you where you really should be going.

“I found some old pottery tools from a class I took in high school,” Riordan said. She discovered the tools in 2008 and decided to try her hand at the craft. So, she signed up for a class or two.

At the time, Riordan handled data and computer information for a large school district in the Metroplex. The career promised many things, including security and a regular paycheck. Pottery gave her a temporary escape from the hustle and bustle. But it would be eventually open an escape from her corporate life altogether.

While she was pursuing pottery through workshops, continuing education and college courses, Riordan became ill. The illness eventually sent her to the hospital for a time. At her side was Gary, her then-boyfriend.

Not long after she got out of the hospital, the two married. And while the marriage meant a new chapter in life for both of them, Riordan jumped into an entirely new book. The two eventually decided the fast-paced life of the Metroplex wasn’t fitting them anymore, so they headed for the Highland Lakes to see what they could find. Riordan has family in Central Texas, so the area was a good fit.

They found a manufactured home in Bluffton, but thought, at the time, it was just a place to hang their hats until they found a “real” house.

“But here we still are,” Riordan said with a grin. While Gary’s job allows him the freedom to live just about anywhere, Riordan couldn’t go back to the corporate life in Bluffton. But then, she didn’t really want to.

With Gary’s support, Riordan decided to give the world of pottery a go. She continued to take classes (even driving as far as Laguna Gloria in Austin) to not only learn more but study under different teachers.

“With every teacher, you learn something different and new. Maybe it’s just a little different way of doing something, but that’s how you grow,” Riordan said. Despite moving to Bluffton, Riordan found herself wrapped up in a strong and growing art community — both in the Highland Lakes and beyond.

At first, she put her pottery wheel in the carport. But this limited her work during extreme temperatures and weather. But all that changed when Gary gave her a gift: a separate pottery studio with air-conditioning and heat. Now, she explores and develops her art daily in the studio.

“This has definitely been a big change,” she said. “When I started doing it in, probably, 2008, it was a hobby. Now, it’s become a life.”

Riordan makes a variety of pottery, including cups and bowls. She’s creates “alternate” pottery that starts out in the shape of a bowl or a cup but evolves into other items such as teapots. There’s also her horsehair pottery, which involves laying strands of horse mane or tail hair on the pottery after it’s been in the kiln. This creates unique and interesting designs.

As she etched out a flower and petal on a coffee cup, Riordan reflected on her two lives: the corporate one and the pottery one. She admitted the life in the big city had advantages — proximity to grocery stores (“When I go to the store here, it’s a half-a-day affair”), entertainment and other amenities. But then she recalled walking out of her studio one day and catching sight of a roadrunner. The bird gripped a lizard in its mouth. It finished off the meal before darting away into the brush.

“Yeah, it’s different here,” Riordan said. “A lot different. But this is a joyful life.”

daniel@thepicayune.com