He lived close to a library in Boise , Idaho and soon devoured every book he could find on raku . During the searches , Tim also discovered pottery of the Southwestern United States . He became enamored by the work of Maria Martinez and her work with black pottery .
Once again , his father-in-law stepped in to help advance Tim to the next level in his skills . He had just purchased a new pottery wheel , so he gave Tim his slightly imperfect old one .
Thrilled , Tim started playing with it and took a six-week course on basic ceramics , moving yet another level in his education , involving countless hours of watching YouTube videos . Tim would encounter a problem while working in his studio and race downstairs to try to find a solution in one of the countless “ how-to ” videos . Then he would rush back upstairs to try out the latest technique .
The more he improved , the more he realized his passion . He discovered he didn ’ t want to do functional work like coffee cups , plates , and bowls . After visiting lots of galleries to help him home in on what he liked , he told himself , “ Go where you have the fun .” He knew he had an affinity for raku and Southwest pottery , so that ’ s what he pursued .
“ It was trial and error , trial and error , trial and error ,” is the way Tim describes his learning curve . He settled on some basic techniques of what is loosely called raku in the United States .
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