Rebecca Moy Behre
More than 40 years ago as an impressionable teen, Rebecca Moy Behre’s first experience of working with clay on the potter’s wheel was so full of wonder and deep connection, that it set the trajectory of her whole life. The pleasure she found in the dynamic between this malleable responsive material and the life, movement and force of the spin in response to her touch, gripped her spirit with a tenacity that has never let go.
Rebecca grew up the child of practical parents of Chinese descent who valued education and the ancient history of the art & culture from which they came. It was no coincidence she found the combined engineering, sculpture & usefulness in the making of functional pottery ultimately appealing.
Her passion for ceramics began in high school, led to setting up her first studio & kiln in her parents’ home & selling her first works by 1976. Indulging a childhood love for nature, the beauty of gardens & plants, she completed a B.S. from the University of Maryland College Park in Ornamental Horticulture (1977), while simultaneously working on an M.F.A. in Ceramics from Antioch University (1978) after which she was invited to stay on as a full-time instructor, eventually being promoted to Associate Professor (1982). In 1984 she left teaching, spent time working periodically with friend Bill Knoble at Red Truck Clayworks (production pottery, Upstate NY) while building a house & studio on the 5.8 acres of pasture in Dayton, MD where Greenbridge Pottery is located.
With the invaluable help & support of her parents, husband Evan Behre, family & friends, Greenbridge has become a well-known Artisan Studio & Craft Gallery including: being written up in local & national publications; featured on Maryland Public Television; used in Bean Hollow Coffee & Cafe (Ellicott City, MD) & the Lakepointe Inn (McHentry, MD); making employee anniversary recognition awards for James Rouse’s retirement non-profit and the Enterprise Community Partners; and makes commemorative items for historic Belmont Manor, MD.
Today Rebecca resides at Greenbridge with husband Evan, works & runs the business with pottery team members Patty Berry (throwing, glazing, firing, sales), Lori Taylor (slab production, glaze technology), Nick Corso (throwing) & business administrator Karen Isailovic. Greenbridge clay, glazes & styles fuse traditional & contemporary aesthetic inspirations from classic Chinese forms & 20th century sculptors Brancusi, Moore & Noguchi. The unique glaze palette was & continues to be developed by Rebecca & Evan (Biochemist by training) and more recently Lori. They derive inspiration from the satin matte surfaces of monochromatic Tang & Song Dynasty porcelains & stonewares, the mottled copper glazes of Chinese Jun ware, the 20th Century American Arts & Crafts movement, and the mixed color concept of American Fiestaware.