Chris Navratil with Snoring Dog Pottery of Woodward is entered into the pottery category. The name comes from her beloved dog Gauge, who used to hang out in her pottery shop and snore loudly while she worked on her potter’s wheel.
When Navratil’s youngest son left for college, she looked to start a new craft and decided on pottery. She started taking pottery lessons in 2001.
“I took to it right away,” Navratil said. “I started going more than one night a week and decided to buy my own wheel. Within a year, I was in a local gallery in California and just kept going.”
Navratil estimates she has made several thousand pots since then, numbering the bottom of each with the date and number of the piece.
“I was making around 300 pots a year, and they were selling really well,” she said.
Each batch from start to finish takes two weeks to complete, and the finished product is microwave, dishwasher and oven safe.
Navratil designs her pottery to be beautiful but also enjoyed during a home’s daily routine. She said her pottery is not meant to sit on a shelf. A popular piece that she makes is a ramen or rice bowl that includes chopsticks.
Navratil describes her pottery as “pieces inspired by the glorious colors in nature’s beauty, and by an incredibly blessed life.”
The artist tends to use bright colors in her work, but her favorite colors are the blues of ocean water.
Navratil noted that her biggest blessings in life are “healthy, happy kids and my grandkids,” she said.
Originally from California, it makes sense that Navratil gravitates toward the bright colors and blues of the ocean. Her family moved from California to Woodward in 2018 to be closer to her son.
She is currently sharing her talent with others by teaching a pottery class at the Larry K. Hill Studios in Woodward. She has taught the class for several years.
“We have a good group of people,” Navratil said. “I’ve made some really nice friends and met some wonderful people.”
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