"I finish my pots in my wood salt kiln because I love exploring the element of controlled chance and I've always been intrigued with, and admired and respected, the mystical and dimensional surfaces of pots decorated by fire, ash and salt. It is important to me to carry on the traditional and historical techniques and to work within the traditional role of the potter to make engaging, well-crafted, and useful pots. I make pots for people to use.

I want my pots to speak loudly about how I handle the clay and I want them to show evidence of my throwing, hand building, decorating and firing process. I work to keep my pots as "clay like" as possible.

My pots are meant to be sincere and honest. They are created to have a job, to be used and held in the hand - whether a familiar bowl for morning oatmeal or a generous and friendly kitchen bucket for gathering greens and cherry tomatoes from the garden. I hope my pots do not live in the cupboard. I make pots that I use daily in my kitchen and garden, so I am always thinking about what kinds of food can be prepared, shared and enjoyed using my pots. This for me creates a very fulfilling connection to the person using my pots. Establishing this intimate connection between my hands and the hands of the individual using my pot plays a vital role in why I make pots."

Allison grew up on a working farm in rural Howard County, Maryland. She received an Associate's Degree in Art from Howard Community College in Columbia, Maryland and studied Painting and Printmaking and Art Education at Virginia Commonwealth University in Richmond, Virginia. For several years she stayed at home raising two children. She returned to college to study Art History (and took a ceramics class as an elective and knew she had to make pots for people to use!) and received a BA in Art from Hood College in Frederick, Maryland. Her pottery experience includes an apprenticeship with Bill vanGilder in Gapland, Maryland and John Thies in Frederick, Maryland. She was also the assistant Director of the Ceramics Program at Hood College in Frederick, Maryland. Allison established her first pottery in Boonsboro, Maryland in 2003 where she built a single chamber catenary arch wood kiln. In 2012 she relocated to Cascade, Maryland and built a bourry box wood salt kiln. In 2024, she established a new pottery in Keedysville, Maryland and is in the process of planning a new wood kiln. Private lessons and other events will be offered soon at her new location. Follow her Facebook and Instagram pages for updates!

Allison's pots have been included in numerous national and international exhibitions including: Salt Glazed Ceramics in Germany; the Orton Cone Box Show and the Strictly Functional Show here in the States. Allison has been included in numerous publications including: Clay Times Magazine, Ceramics Monthly, the Log Book International Wood Fire Magazine, Salzbrand Keramics 2004 and New Ceramic, the European Ceramic Magazine 2019.

Allison has a long career teaching ceramics and was faculty at the Art League School in Alexandria, Virginia. In Frederick, Maryland, she taught at The Frederick Pottery School, The Little Pottery Shop and the Delaplaine Visual Arts Center. In addition to teaching classes, she has led throwing workshops and wood-firing workshops.