| Tom Edwards took his first ceramics class in high school in CA. He had felt he wasn’t good at drawing or painting so this was an artistic venue he enjoyed. He began making pots that summer while in high school and selling them. While pursuing a B.A. degree in Art History at UC Santa Barbara, Tom took two years of studio art classes in ceramics and sculpture. During his senior year, he decided he wasn’t cut out for graduate studies so decided to make pots for a living. Tom then rented Studio space in an art pottery factory in Santa Barbara. 25 years ago, Tom came up with the concept of “Wally”. A friend of his was in med school and had a delirious patient who kept talking about Nappy. After a while, his friend realized the patient was talking about a dog. Tom got the name 'Wally' from some British guys he worked with. “Calling someone a “Wally” in the '80's was like calling them a nerd”, Tom explains. One day he started drawing these really simple Wally jokes on the pots just for his own amusement. Tom then moved to LA and his “Wallyware” took on more political turn. Next he evolved into a larger home studio in Everwood CO. His cartoon “Wally” even became a regular feature in the local paper. Tom is still making Wally pottery much the way he has for twenty-five years. The topics for the Wally adventures are always changing with the times, but the spirit of the quirky mysterious dog remains his muse. |
