Paul S. Briggs was reared in New York’s Hudson Valley, beginning ceramics in 9th grade. Ceramics was the one place where his attention was not disturbed. His thinking about art objects as material shapes, explored in his slab-built pieces, began as an undergraduate at the New York State College of Ceramics at Alfred University. His pinching takes inspiration from the idea that “nature makes no aesthetic mistakes.” Briggs has studied and taught art education, ceramics, and theology, earning his PhD at Penn State and his MFA at MassArt. He teaches Ceramic Art at Alfred University.