Birthe Flexner grew up in Denmark and was influenced greatly by the simple lines, love of material, and honest craftmanship of the Danish Design Movement of the 1950s. Her love of food also serves as a source of inspiration. “I visualize my pots filled with the myriad colors and textures of food,” she says. “Oval platters with fish, large bowls filled with colorful salads, tureens with stew or soup, and of course, family and friends gathered around enjoying it all.” Flexner served as apprentice to potter, John Atlee, and attended the Kansas City Arts Institute. She has lived in Oklahoma since 1970 and has worked out of her own studio since 1980. She works with white stoneware, throwing and altering the forms as well as hand building with slabs. Much of her work is functional cone-10 reduction. In addition to teapots, pitchers, platters, and bowls, she makes sculptural pieces, including boxes made from slab construction that are inspired by architectural forms. For texture, she presses the clay into paper, metal, or other objects, and uses glazes to add depth and emphasize the shape of the piece.