Pottery puts felines first

In the home of Donna Kulibert, mischievous cats peek from every corner.

Kulibert, a potter, has specialized in creating ceramic felines for the last 18 years.

“I found the finished product fascinating, so I took a class at the Fairchild Arts and Crafts center,” says Kulibert. “It felt like coming home, in all honesty, it really did. It was just so easy for me, very natural. It just flowed.”

After graduating from Eastern Washington, she taught pottery at the Spokane Art School, Fairchild Arts and Crafts Center, and a couple of summer courses at EWU. Although she specializes in feline designs, she also paints nature-inspired and customary patterns.

“Even after all these years, I still find it very interesting,” says Kulibert. “If I’m tired of painting pet cats then I paint something else. Sometimes I like to go back and do my traditional pottery with ash glazes and brown tones and carving. There are so many aspects of pottery that you really can’t get bored.”

Her pieces include items such as cups and bowls, vases, kitchen and bathroom tiles, planters, cat banks, message boards, and sinks. Much of her pottery is sold at Pottery Place Plus located in Auntie’s Bookstore in downtown Spokane, and at fairs. She also does a lot of custom work, especially for those who enjoy her impish kitties.

“When I did this bathroom sink the customer said ‘I want a sink this size with a cat on it.’ So I made one with a cat lying on his back and he’s got a sponge in one hand and the soap in the other and he’s giving himself a bath,” says Kulibert.

A sizable studio adjoins her house, and she has five kilns. Kulibert creates all the pottery and does all the finish work. Her husband helps fire the kiln, recycle clay, and set up at fairs. All her pieces are handbrushed and of original design.

Simple items may take just 10 minutes to mold, but elaborate pieces may take more than 12 hours to carve. Kulibert’s past cats and four present cats are the models for all her feline ware.

“All my cat pottery is based on the cats I’ve had, or have,” she says. “Their faces, their body style, the funny things they’ve done. And anyone who has had cats knows that every cat is different. They give you plenty of material.”

Kulibert hopes to do more carving, and include more human faces in her pottery. She’d like to return to her earlier work with more earth-colored, rustic motifs.

“It’s an enormous amount of work,” says Kulibert. “But I do it because I love making pottery. To me a good day is going to the studio and making or carving pots.”