Thomas Merton, in No Man Is an Island, wrote, “Art enables us to find ourselves and lose ourselves at the same time.” Art has always been in my heart. During my years pursuing a B.A. in Archaeology and Classical Languages at The College of Wooster in Ohio, I managed to overload every semester with a Ceramics class so that I could do something artistic. Making pottery grounded me. Often, while stars were twinkling in the thickest part of night, I was lost in my work in the studio: hand-building, throwing clay on the wheel, or glazing. My then beau, Russell Kohrs—whom I met on the volcanic island of Santorini during a study abroad in Greece—would toss stones at the window to bring me back to reality and remind me I needed to get at least a few hours of sleep before classes began again in the morning.

For SENK, pottery is a passion. After a ten-year hiatus, I returned to pottery after the birth of my second son in 2010. By then, my husband (Russell) and I were living in the Shenandoah Valley. Russell converted an old goat shed into a pottery studio, to which I could venture for my creative outlet. This is my second summer as an artisan at local farmer's markets. My year-old business specializes in customized pottery. I make mugs for Swover Creek Farms and Brewery, donate 40 bowls to the annual Empty Bowl Soup Supper in Woodstock,VA, and sell my work at South Street Barn Market and Woodstock Farmer's Market.

The markets have allowed me to showcase my passion for photography, too. My photography has placed in several contests, the most recent of which was the 2015 Clarke County Conservation Easement Authority's Celebrating Nature in Clarke County Professional Photography Contest, in which two of my photographs were awarded third prize and honorable mention. My work has also been published in Virginia Literary Journal, a Virginia-focused web-based publication that incorporates writing, photography, and illustration. At the farmer's markets, SENK sells photography on canvas, framed with local walnut and cherry wood frames handcrafted by my husband, on photo cards and postcards, and as prints.

Before focusing on my art, I taught Latin in the public school and for homeschooling families. I have a current Virginia state teaching license endorsed in Latin and Visual Arts, which I use to homeschool my three sons, Joseph (in 2nd grade), Ezra (in Kindergarten), and Gratian (19 months old). My typical work week focuses on teaching and caring for my children, while Russel teaches at Massanutten Regional Governor's School and as an adjunct professor at Lord Fairfax Community College (one night each week). I work in my pottery studio in the evenings as often as I can; take my camera everywhere I go to capture those inspiring moments; and fit in time for my third passion: poetry. Some of my poetry has been published in From the Depths, a Front Royal based, print-on-demand literary magazine, and will be published in the upcoming 2015 issue, as well as Evangel and Poetry From the Valley of Virginia.

I play an active role in the community. I am the managing editor for The Sow's Ear Poetry Review, a Winchester-based, print literary journal that melds poetry and art, as well as a board member for Valley Educational Center for the Creative Arts (VECCA ). I completed Master Gardener training in 2012 and continue to volunteer for that program. I am a board member for the Nasaruni Academy, a school for the daughters of impoverished Maasai families in Narok, Kenya—where, traditionally, girls have not received an education. My family attends Church of the Incarnation, an Anglican congregation in Harrisonburg. And, from time to time, you'll find me tutoring at Spring Forward, an after-school tutoring program in Hamburg, VA. This summer and fall, I am using my background in archaeology to help restore and rededicate a local slave cemetery in Shenandoah County.

I hope to continue selling artwork at local farmer's markets. It is hard work, though, and would be impossible without my husband's help. Russell helps me set up a display that allows me to give demonstrations on hand-built and wheel-thrown pottery. He trucks and loads my pottery wheel, solar-powered generator, displays, and supplies from Conicville to Woodstock two Saturday mornings each month. Anyone can sell their work at a farmer's market, but doing that and demonstrating is quite exhausting. And yet, it allows me to share my passions with the public and, hopefully, spark an interest in pottery into the hearts of those who venture out to see my demonstrations. That is my favorite part of the market: watching eyes light up when people see wheel-throwing in action.

My least favorite part of market time is selling my work. While I love knowing my work is going to a good home where it will be appreciated and admired, it's hard to compete in price with places like Walmart. Everyone wants a low-priced deal, but the reality is, after totaling the prices associated with coming to the farmer's markets—gas, labor, time at the market—as well as working in the studio, firing the kiln, and supplies, SENK barely makes ends meet. There is a reason artists are always described as starving—I go to markets for the passion I have in my art, for the purpose of bringing a smile to customers' faces, and especially for inspiring hope in even a disparaged heart. Our world is rife with complaining, cruelty, and incivility—it's nice to take a moment to savor something beautiful and real. You can find SENK's market and exhibition schedules, publications, and more at http://www.senkohrs.weebly.com.