After graduate study at the University of Illinois,
Max Braverman spent 10 years as a Ph.D. biologist
specializing in developmental research and
publishing articles with extended titles like
Studies on Hydroid Differentiation. I. Podocoryne
carnea, culture methods and carbon dioxide induced
sexuality. Then, in 1971, after a year's worth of
night classes in wheel thrown pottery, he left the
academic world to become a potter in Taos, NM where
he founded Ranchos de Taos Pottery.
(If anyone has a chop from
that period, I would love to get a picture.)
A subsequent visit to Japan influenced Max's
perspective as a potter "in a powerful and permanent
manner." He was particularly struck by the beauty
and simplicity of the common items of everyday
Japanese life, articles "perfectly designed for
their function" and "devoid of ostentation or
self-conscious artiness."
After five years in Taos he spent ten years in rural New Jersey,
labeling his pots as Delaware Pottery. During
this time, he met Chase Rosade and rekindled a
long-held interest in bonsai. Later, Max and his wife, Kate Bowditch, who is an artist in her own right, moved
to a quiet mountain valley north of Seattle,
Washington where Max's potting art focused solely on
the production of bonsai containers. These were
labeled Pine Garden Pottery
Pine
Garden Bonsai
