Muddy Bird Pottery
Located in the vibrant Gonic Mills in Gonic, Nh lies Muddy Bird Pottery. Founder, Tim Christensen-Kirby, started Muddy Bird Pottery in
1999, just about six months after his first pottery lesson. On the same day that
he decided to become a professional potter, a neighbor asked for his
help in rehabilitating a baby crow that had come into her care through
a wildlife rehabilitation center. The crow sat on the edge of the wheel
and left its mark on many a pot. Even after being released, it returned
regularly and called to Tim to open the chicken coop so it could steal
an egg for breakfast. The pottery is named for that crow, as well as
the finches and doves that became Tim's new studio companions after it
left.
Tim started with a wheel in a corner of a bedroom in
a small apartment in Newmarket, NH. Eventually the pottery took over a
small room, and then overflowed into the kitchen, and eventually
displaced the living room furniture too. In the meantime, Theresa
joined the business in July 2000 with a mission to make the pottery
profitable and sustainable. She managed the business for four years,
during which time Muddy Bird Pottery functioned as a production
pottery. In spring 2002, Tim and Theresa moved to Milton, NH, where a
small barn attached to the house served as the studio until it caught
fire in Feb 2006. In 2004, Tim left production work behind and turned
his attention to developing his new black and white drawings on
porcelain as well as honing his skills as a metal worker and sculptor.
He continues to work as a full time artist, and Muddy Bird Pottery is
now housed in the Gonic Mills in Gonic, NH.
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