Carolyn Bernard Young

Carolyn Bernard Young
Contemporary Ceramics with Native American Roots

I am an enrolled member of the Choctaw Nation of Oklahoma and a registered Choctaw artist. My work is contemporary Native American pottery.  With a potter’s wheel and electric kiln, I try to bring a modern voice to the clay, while still honoring the art and traditions of my ancestors.  Using a sgraffito technique to carve totems, spirits, and patterns into my pottery is an expression of my deep respect for all Native American culture and especially my beloved Choctaw tribe.

For 33 years, I was a quality engineer for a major aerospace company. Midway through my career, looking for a way to relieve stress, I discovered and fell in love with clay.

For many years, I spent a week each summer at Arrowmont School of Art in Gatlinburg, Tennessee, learning from the best:  Lana Wilson, Ellen Shankin, Josh DeWeese, Pete Pinnell, and Kathy Triplett to name a few.  At home, I took classes from the best in Texas – Dale Neese, Daphne Hatcher, Mark Epstein and many others. I bought a wheel and practiced my craft every day, preparing for the day I could retire and live my dream – to be a full-time potter.

In 2009, retirement from aerospace was finally possible and in 2011 I reconnected with my long-lost love, Sam. On October 1, 2011 Sam & I were married at the beautiful Weston Gardens in Fort Worth. We bought a home on two acres in Weatherford, where we built a new 1200 sf studio. Now I spend every day working in clay and living my dream! As Sam always tells me…DREAM BIG!

My current work features Sacred Spirits, or totems, which appeal to a wide audience due to the deep emotional connection the spirits evoke.