WHY "Froggy Mountain"?

When we moved into our new home in Nevada City, CA in the spring of 2015, we were greeted by the croak of a lone frog who seemed to have awakened after his winter's sleep in the pond on our property. We named him "Norman". Norman's lonely croak lasted only a day, when he was answered by another frog, as though they were having a conversation.

"Croak." .  .  . "Croak, croak."

Within a couple days, this two way conversation became a chorus of croaks from a whole community of tree frogs, and the Naberschnackle Choir was born!

Norman and the Naberschnackle Choir return every spring to serenade us up on top of Banner Mountain.

 

In many cultures, frogs symbolize good things: abundance, prosperity, rebirth, and growth. 
When it came time to name our new business, what better name than "Froggy Mountain Pottery" !

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Bob Davis, Artisan Potter and Sculptor

In 1970, I left home in the San Francisco Bay Area to pursue a career in art and enrolled in Fine Art at Long Beach State University in Southern California. I enrolled to study drawing/painting, but in my first semester I took a ceramics class, and that was it for me. I fell in love with clay and have not yet fallen out of love with it. Long Beach State was focused on functional stoneware pottery in the Japanese tradition.

I did not finish my four-year degree there but did find the love of my life, Susan. We were married in 1973 and I pursued a career in building, sailboats–actually, world-class yachts. At the same time, I produced pottery for sale through the California craft fair circuit, which I did for three years.

In 1976 we relocated back to the San Francisco Bay Area,  for me to finish my pursuit of a career in Art. I studied at San Jose State with David Middlebrook and Linda Rosenus, where the emphasis was ceramic sculpture. I put myself through graduate school working in the trades with the hard work, and help of my wife, Susan, and continued to create and sell functional ceramics.

 

Our first son was born in my last year in pursuit of an MFA in Sculpture, which I received in 1983.  At that point my family took priority, and I established a construction business that lasted 25+ amazing, wonderful years, in which Susan and I worked side-by-side. In 2011, we had to make the difficult decision to close the doors of our design/build firm, but this also opened up the opportunity to move to Nevada County, California, where we love living in the beautiful Sierra Nevada Mountains and enjoy being part of the wonderful community, here.

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I am finding my way reconnecting with my art and love of creating functional stoneware and porcelain pottery for others to use and enjoy. And now, with Froggy Mountain Pottery, we want to share our ware, crafted with much more than skill . . .

each piece contains joy and love that I've experienced throughout my life.

ENJOY!