What you feed your mind is just as important as what you feed your body.

I believe this to my core. I am a visual artist and so I am particularly interested in what we take in, visually. I believe when you surround yourself with harmony, beautiful things, and inspiration, you feel happier!

I strive to create objects that inspire this. I want people to be delighted, or to think a little deeper, or just to smile and take a deep breath and appreciate without haste.

I work primarily using two stoneware clay bodies: one white, which holds up better to my propensity to really stretch forms out; and the other a toasty and speckled color that adds a rustic charm to finished pieces. I create forms on the potters wheel, and then I often alter those forms or add handbuilt sections to achieve forms that have a sculptural quality. My glaze colors are attractive while retaining a sense of being natural—colors one would find in nature.

I have studied clay with Steve Briggs, a professional potter of Gilpin County Colorado; The Craft Alliance in University City, Missouri; The Boulder Potter’s Guild in Boulder, Colorado; and with Steven Hill and others in workshops. I also paint and draw, create beauty in my gardens, and enjoy photography. If you want a peak at that you can visit my personal website: https://bernhardt-arts.com.

My studio is in my home in Nederland, Colorado—high in the Rocky Mountains where everything is the raw, primal force of nature blowing down from the high peaks outside my window and through the forests and meadows and me, inspiring me while reminding me that I am a small but integral part of this creation.

Recent Juried Shows

(Upcoming) I have been juried in as a guest artist on the Estes Park Studio Tour, August 2026. Stay tuned to my Events page for details as they are finalized.

The Craft Alliance (St. Louis, MO) - In My Space: Functional Craft for the Home - October 1, 2025 - January 9, 2026

Curtis Center for the Arts (Denver, CO), 42nd Annual Best of Colorado Show - July 12 - August 29, 2025

Gilpin County Arts Association (Central City, CO), 78th Annual Juried Show, June 7 - August 8, 2025 (Received 3rd Place in the 3D category that included clay, wood, stone, jewelry, etc.)

Gilpin Country Arts Association (Central City, CO), 77th Annual Juried Show, 2024

The Depot Art Gallery (Denver, CO), 39th Annual Best of Colorado Show, 2023