For A List Of The Featured Artists 2007

For a List Of The Featured Artists 2006
 

Fran Shell, a returning artist this year, has lived in Mariposa for 23 years. Her family was from Mariposa and dating back several decades they established the first stage stop at Greeley Hill.  Others settled in Jamestown.  Fran spent part of her life in the Los Angeles as the Assistant Vice President of the largest Insurance Broker in the United States then moving back to Mariposa took the job of Sales Manager for the Mariposa Gazette.

Fran has been doing ceramics for 7 years now.  Her favorite methods are pit fire and Raku.  She says, “The element of surprise is always a part of my pottery.  I use bits of nature such as seaweed and lizard skins, and even horsehair, while doing a variety of hot firings.  It’s like magic when a ceramic piece comes out of a fire and everything melds together into a piece of beauty.”

Fran was looking for a craft that use her hands and after a class or two in Merced she developed a love for clay.  She says she loves how it feels and shaping it into new creative designs makes her feel good.   Fran’s beautiful pots are one of a kind and a joy to see.  Don’t miss them while on the “Trail.”