Originally a registered nurse, Shirley Wipfler began her artistic career at the age of 38. Her love to be creative drove her to attend the University of Missouri and get a second degree: Bachelor of Arts. She then moved to coastal Alabama in order to be closer to the water. She was forced to pit fire her ceramic works in sawdust, after her kiln rusted immediately in the ocean air. Her holistic lifestyle led her to create hand-built sculpted figures, using solid clay and pieces of similar height. Connecting with the clay in this direct technique, she noticed how the organic nature of clay develops form and changed uniquely through the firing method. She starts her creative process by asking the clay forms what each wants to be. Each piece is perfect in its own way and form and reflects that she too could not fully understand her true nature without her creator’s presence.