Marjorie (Teslow) Dogterom (photo by Jeannine Lintner). The wheel of fortune, pottery wheel that is by Brenda McDonald, MSU Communications Services An adult education class taken as a lark at Montana State unleashed an artistic creativity that Marjorie (Teslow) Dogterom, '43 HomeEc, never realized she had. Her training at MSU with legendary pottery professor Frances Senska led her to mount one woman pottery shows in Montana, North Dakota and Minnesota. "When I took the class my children were in high school," she said. "I talked my friends into taking the class with me. I was just going to take it as an 'observer' course but my husband persuaded me to take it for credit." Dogterom had no background in pottery. "Senska pushed us to bring out our best. She just knew what she was talking about. She could show you how to do it but she forced you to do it on your own. I was fortunate to work with her." Dogterom was amazed at the technical level of the course. "She had us make our own glazes." This forced her to use long-unused college chemistry skills. "I didn't think we'd have to get into that kind of detail with pottery." Senska also showed the class where to dig for pottery clay. By the end of the year-long course Dogterom was hooked. "It was a thrill to take a hunk of clay and make it into a pot." She set up a pottery studio in her basement. "My husband and I built my first kiln. It was fun to do the work. I could hardly wait for everyone to leave each morning so I could throw pots." Dogterom wasn't planning to sell anything. "I just wanted to do it for fun." But a friend took her pots to an art show in Helena and they sold. When she and her family moved to Minneapolis she was accepted into art shows, and the sale of her pottery took off. "I had had such good training from Frances." She branched out into sculpting as well, learning to carve soapstone. "When I lived in Minneapolis a friend got me to take a sculpture class with her." With just a hammer and a chisel she created a world of lifelike animals. "The ideas just come. The stone dictates what you'll make. The carving can be tricky so the stone doesn't break apart." The entrance to her new home in Bozeman features a huge rabbit carved from soapstone. "It took three men to bring it into the house." She also learned to carve alabaster. "I would pick up pieces by the roadside as we would travel seasonally to Tucson." She's also learned how to solder over the years so she could make other pieces of art. Her artistry isn't limited to pottery or sculpture; she's also an artist of the garden. Her former house in Bozeman's Hyalite Foothills is known for its beautiful flower garden. "I'd give away nearly 100 bouquets from that garden each year. I'd start with tulips in the spring and end up with chrysanthemums in the fall. My husband and I would garden together. Anything that would grow here we'd plant." Dogterom's husband, Cornelius "Cory", '43 Chem, died in January. Last year when Cory lived in the Spring Meadows Assisted Living Facility, Marge put in a flower and vegetable garden for the residents. "It's wheelchair accessible and the residents take care of it themselves. They decide what they want to plant." Dogterom's new home is a condo in Bozeman with beautiful views of the Hyalites. She's given up her pottery studio and has donated its contents to the budding artists at Anderson School. But she continues with her soapstone sculpting because the only tools required are a hammer and chisel. The new house is just bare, graded ground on the outside with no flower garden. Dogerom thinks she'll be tempted soon to unleash her artistic creativity once again.