In this quote John Cage captures the philosophy of Clay by Nature pottery and its founder, Deborah Hager. Her art is a celebration of the sacred in the ordinary life. 

Deborah makes plates, soap dishes, pots, chip n' dips, way cool batter bowls and quite a few other items. She combines the beautiful and the functional in objects that have an intimate place in people's lives - like the rim of the mug meeting the drinker's lips. With a large bowl at the center of a meal with family or friends Deborah hopes to inspire a knowingness of sacred time and sacred relationships. 

Deborah opened her studio in 1999 after nearly 20 years in pottery working for studios such as Van Briggle and Pankrazts, and teaching in the community. During this time she has developed a fiercely independent style which has evolved from her first 'Colorado Sunset' glaze to her recent wood-fired 'Lunar Moth' series. 

Art, play and experimentation have been life-long passions. As a child Deborah could often be found concocting peanut-butter and coffee mixtures in the kitchen while her mother slept, or designing an elaborate swimming pool for Barbie out in the mud. After high school she went on to the Pittsburgh Art Institute and the Indiana University of Pennsylvania before accompanying her military husband to posts in Germany and Italy where she took enduring inspiration from the Uffici, architecture, and the rich fabric of European history.

After her three children left home Deborah enrolled at CSU Pueblo and completed a BFA in ceramics. She continues to maintain close ties to the ceramics department, encouraging younger artists.  

Deborah's art reflects the confluence of history and objects in nature. She is strongly drawn to byzantine and renaissance colours, reflected in the vibrant blues and reds of her raku work and the deep tones of her glazes. 

Juxtaposed against this historical and European context is Deborah's connection to the earth, and from this she draws robust textures and materials.