Tisa Womack never thought she would be working as a resident potter. However, her ardor for pottery making has brought her to join other artists at 16 Main Gallery.

Womack’s work is stoneware pottery, decorated with vibrant, lead-free glaze and fired in an electric kiln.

Artists at 16 Main Gallery encouraged Womack to consign her work there. “Three months later, I was voted in as a resident,” Womack said. “I never intended to sell what I make. I never dreamed this is where life would take me.”

Womack grew up in a home where, as a painter, her mother encouraged and guided her very early on to discover art on her own terms. “Before I knew how to cook, I knew how to draw ears and eyes proportionately for a human face,” she said.

“16 Main Gallery, first and foremost, has a heart. My mother, Lisa Riccardi, became a resident artist over a year ago,” Womack said.

During that time, Womack volunteered at the gallery, enrolled in art classes, “grew as a potter and developed friendships with the other artists.”

Womack has experimented artistically with several different types of media. “But it wasn’t until I got my hands in the clay that art became a passion and escape for me,” she said.

Womack hopes that “joy in the simple things” resonates as a theme through her work. She often adds whimsical flourishes to commonplace objects.

A good example is one of her first pottery products, a mug that she judged as unimpressive. “I hand-built some ears with earrings on it,” Womack said. “I didn’t have a reason other than it made me laugh.”

The underlying mindset for her art is “function is only limited by imagination. I want to give people a choice in how they use what I make. My pieces are watertight and food-safe.”

For more information, call 16 Main Gallery at 256-325-0161 or visit tisaspieces.wordpress.com and Facebook/Tisas-Pieces-Pottery.