Leah Lyon

Willow Pond is proud to present
our newest Artist Inn Residence,
Leah Lyon!

A perennial artist, I recently went to college to create my first professional career. I graduated with a B.A. in Public Relations from Mesa State College, CO. It’s creative side assists me in my pottery business.

What happened is while going through school I discovered a love for clay. (Those darn electives!) It started with hand building and transition into throwing on a wheel. I often use both techniques in my pieces. I have finally accepted that clay is now a passion.



Clay is addictive. Don’t let anyone tell you anything different. Whether you collect the finished vessels or indulge in the creation process you’ll get hooked. My husband tells me the reason I love clay is because of my love of rocks. Clay is simply very, very small rocks. He may be right. Scientifically it’s true!

My love of creating ceramic vessels uses my natural abilities and learned skills. It is the happy
accidents that amaze me. Like my “Peach Pitchers”



The story goes - I had thrown my first tall (for me) vase. When I went to flip it over to dry more, one side collapsed. I was in shock. I couldn’t waste the vessel so...I altered it more and “voila!” My own style of pitcher.
I create functional pieces that are a joy to look at. I seek to create vessels with texture and functional aesthetic forms. So that when they’re not in use you would think, “Why would you want to put this away in a cupboard?!


Leah's beautiful tea pots are now available at Willow Pond!

Peg Oswald

From early childhood on, drawing has always been a love of mine. I was fortunate to have an excellent art teacher at the public school
I attended in upstate New York from whom I received art instruction from kindergarten through high school. Even though I had a career
as an elementary classroom teacher, I continued to take art classes to be able to give instruction to my pupils and always took
a sketch book with me on my travels.



It wasn’t until retirement that I discovered the joy of working in clay and the fun of creating paintings with pastels. I continue to take
pottery classes with Terry Shepherd at the Art Center in Grand Junction throwing on the potter’s wheel and hand building. I love the
whole process of creating a piece then adding slips, stains or glazes to achieve a certain look. Watching that piece come out of a firing
(whether from a gas, raku or salt kiln) is like Christmas morning. There is almost always a surprise. I find it quite addictive!

Working with pastels has allowed me to add wonderful color to my drawing. I love the brilliance of the colors and textures
you can achieve with them. Now a small box of pastels goes with me on my travels. Sara Oakley got me started on pastels and
now I am teaching a pastel class for beginners.

I have shown my art work at the Art Center, Crystal Café, Planet Earth Gallery and downtown where I have participated in Friday Art Hop
and the Thursday night Farmer’s market. I reside in Grand Junction , Colorado with my husband and 4 cats.-Peg

Greg Luff

For as long as I can remember I have been an artist. I have always been fascinate with light, color and shape. I am a senior at Palisade High School.
For the last seven years I have worked in clay and two years ago I began working in glass. This year I have combined the two,
creating mixed media pieces of functional art in addition to pendants, vortex and floral marbles, and beads.
In addition to glass, I use only naturally found gems, shells, pearls and silver findings in my jewelry pieces.

I have named my business Elements of Earth. It reflects my deep respect and appreciation for nature.
Our surrounding canyons, mesas, orchards, farmland and desert are the inspiration for much of my work.

It was not until I took a trip to Great Britian as a student ambassador for People to People that I became focused on glass as an artform.
The visit to Waterford Crystal Factory literally changed my life. I came back determined to learn and create in this medium.

After acquiring the proper equipment, I had about six months of experimentation on my own.
After school was out, I was able to attend classes at Glasscraft in Denver and the Eugene School of Glass in Oregon.
I was also fortunate to be accepted into Snow Farm in Massachusetts.
Snow Farm is part of the New England Arts and Crafts Program and run specifically for high school students.

I appreciate your interest in my art and hope you enjoy your purchases!