|
 Raybo graduated from the California College of Art and Crafts in Oakland, CA in 1972. He moved to Fort Collins and rented a studio in the Opera Galleria for $30 a month with his fellow mates, Gorph and Don Gilmore. That is when he met Carl Judson. Raybo paints abstract works which can be found at his studio, 2708 North Overland Trail. He married into a longstanding Laporte family which established the property in which he and Marc now reside. As the husband to the late Leslie Verstraton (married in 1982), They lived and worked up and around the Poudre Canyon building fine log cabins for 20 years.
Raybo and Marc's property has a long history dating back to 1858, when the first log cabin was erected as a saloon in Laporte to serve the army camp across the river. By 1877 Leslie's ancestors moved to the property. Currently, there is a permanent resident deer who lives with them, injured but doing well. There are crabapples, willows, and a fallen spruce in the yard with a large jungle-y shaped garden near the main house.
Marc arrived in Fort Collins in 1972 as well, after trying out the New York lifestyle, sailing up and down the east coast as a deck hand for many years. He grew up with farm kids, from Tennessee to Michigan. His father was a salesman. When he arrived in Fort Collins the pace of life here in 1972 reminded him of his roots, so he decided to stay, never to return to the hustle and bustle of the east coast.
Currently, Marc & Raybo do the heavy lifting up at the Ranch. They recently straightened up (literally) and roofed an old chicken shed on the property to operate as a bee keeping center, and are always helping Carl with the larger projects on the property.
Mama Cats, Peggy and Judy
These two dedicated denizens have been hard at work laboring over their 10 kittens. Since Carl and Sarah brought them to the pottery they have fallen into glaze buckets and got locked in the damp box more than once until they found their way around. If you are lucky you might even be able to find their paw prints in some of the pots that came out of the kiln! We love these two, and all the joy they've brought to the studio. Practically every Judson family member has entangled themselves with their offspring.
One of Judy's kittens, "Lug-Nut", "Kick-Wheel", "Zip-Tie", or "Frayed-Edge" (TBD) has stayed behind with Carl and Sarah in the "Big House" and is happily mingling with the other house cats, who are not yet overjoyed. 
Our Doggo, TBD: The Official Greeter
At Judson Pottery we have our official greeter and general master of persuasion, TBD (‘TseBiDahi’). He hitched a ride from the Navajo reservation with Carl back in 2013 and has been with us ever since. If you have visited the pottery you will remember this little rascal whining politely for that perfect scratch.
Pyro
Don’t let his cute looks and cozy cuddles fool you…Pyro is a maniac. Not only will he get underfoot to trip you, but he preys on pots. Carl makes his big jars & jugs in two or three separate pieces, leaving the sections to dry overnight with a batt on top to keep the rim from warping. This little fireball has been known to jump on the batt, distorting the pot sometimes beyond repair :-0
We put up with him because he is an excellent mouser... and, yes, fluffy friendliness makes up for a lot!
Sandy Edwards
Sandy started working at the pottery in the summer of 1975 as a major contributor to the molded dinnerware production, which she still does today. At that time, the pottery was located at the old cherry factory north of Fort Collins, where Sandy's favorite memories are marathon loading of the large beehive kiln then heading down to El Burrito for a nice meal and a cold beer. One of the favorite things about working up at Judson's is the balance between aesthetics and utility that the finished pots carry. Being a part of that makes her proud. During her time away from clay she studied Pueblo archaeology, focusing mostly on ceramics. Achieving a promising career by first graduating from East Carolina University and then moving on to doing field work for the CSU Laboratory of Public Archaeology, she was dragged back into the mud (or out of it) in 2015 after marrying and raising twins. Now she continues to work on the molded dinnerware, and makes smaller pieces such as marbles, fish, and the occasional pig. Her love of Carl's humor (or brow beating) keeps her coming back. In her spare time she loves raising rabbits and dogs for show.
Mia Roth
Mia is a student at CSU and a valued addition to the pottery. She is the expert in tree and garden care at the ranch, but helps around the studio as well when there are larger projects that need to be completed such as clay making and cleaning up finished pottery. Mia is a die-hard animal lover, and wants to make connections with the traditional ways of the west. She is also a dedicated musician who performs new and old folk songs at Wolverine Farm. You can find her around Fort Collins' open mic nights, and she helps organize musical gatherings in the area.
Joey Miranda
Joey Miranda is a grad student at CSU and works part time at Judson Pottery. He loves firing the wood kilns and getting to know the traditions of the Judson family and folk pottery. He also teaches at Smokestack Pottery Studio in Fort Collins. Sometimes you can find him selling pots at a farmers market . He enjoys working at Ku Cha House of Tea and makes functional pottery.
Mama Bear & Cubs
 In 2024 our neighbor took this picture of a black bear sow with her 3 cubs on the county road in broad daylight heading in our direction. They were in such a hurry to get to our orchard that they cut cross country, not even using the driveway. Little did they know that the wild turkeys beat them to it. Dang turkeys picked all our apples and started in on the grapes!
Then there was the time we saw bear claw-marks in a barrel of dry clay inside the kiln shed, and a bucket of heavy kiln furniture tipped over :-0
Whitetail Fawn with Wild Turkey Tom and Hen This pair of wild turkeys seems to have befriended a fawn. We rarely see these moments of communal joy amongst the wildlife, but if you have rifled through old newsletters, you know that skunks are a sometimes faint odor when entering the Pottery. We all share the same space up here at Phantom Canyon Ranch, and it is even more apparent when sightings like this occur. We wonder whether the Fawn was simply distracted, lost its way, or mom just scheduled a play date.
Then there was the time we found bobcat tracks in the snow leading from the creek to the "catio"...We don't believe that was a social call :-o
Our Clan of Skunks
Carl had climbed up on the rail fence to check the gauge on the propane tank... When he turned to step down, a mama skunk and seven kits were passing underneath his feet. Somehow, Carl managed to get his phone out and catch the last five in the parade without being compromised.
For decades, we have shared the pottery barn with a tribe of skunks without major incident. The pottery occupies the space above the floor, while they live underneath. Providentially, the floor is concrete and the skunks are generally well-mannered.
Then there are coons...(not often, fortunately)
And of course there are Whitetail and Mule Deer...
|
