Les Powell

Growing up in Ocean City, Maryland, in the late 1960's and 70's, I spent a lot of time wandering the woodlands and marshes surrounding my home. These explorations led to an interest in the ways that earlier people lived in that same area, chiefly in the ways that they made the things that allowed them to survive and flourish in an environment that wasn't as gentle for them as it was for me. I read as much as I could about the native Americans and the early settlers of this country, and often wished that I were born in a time when a person made their living with the creativity in their hands and strength in their back. Using the knowledge that I had learned, I tried my hand at creating the arts that they practiced. It wasn't until I met a young woman in my high school art class that I found my true art form. She was a potter and taught me to use the wheel. Although the romance didn't work out, she started me on a path that, though I've occasionally stepped off, I have followed most of my life.