ASHEVILLE, N.C. — The city of Asheville has a rich pottery history. So rich, it’s drawn many ceramic artists to the area.

One of them is Candice Hensley, a ceramic artist who became a "trailglazer" and opened her own business in the western North Carolina mountains.

Artists usually have interesting stories about why they became artists, and that's no different for Hensley.

"I just enjoy making pottery," Hensley says. "This is my therapy."

But she didn't always want to be a potter. Born and raised in Kentucky, she initially went to college pursuing a degree in broadcast journalism.

"I actually wanted to be a news lady," Hensley says.

But an elective in college changed the course of her life.

"I took a ceramics class in college and absolutely fell in love," Hensley says. "It just changed my life completely.”

That class is what brought her the most peace and happiness, and she couldn't turn a blind eye to that.

Loving it was one thing, but she was hesitant about pursuing it as a career. That is, until her father passed away in 2005 after a long battle with cancer. Her dad meant everything to her.

"My dad, he was a welder, and he was always tinkering with something in the garage," Hensley says. "And one thing that was really important to him was not necessarily the final product but just that something was well-made.”

That stuck with her. She makes sure each item she creates is made well.

"The other sort of legacy that I feel like he left me with was, you know, don't live your life just for the weekends," Hensley says. "To live your life to be happy in all that you do.”

These legacies resonated with her, and she decided to pursue a life she knew would make her happy. Before she knew it, Hensley was moving to Asheville as a full-time ceramic artist.

"I really like that I can use what I'm making," Hensley says. "To me, that's the most beautiful thing that there is, is that it's actually a functional piece of art.”

But being a woman in the industry, she has faced some challenges.

"I noticed early on in my career that there were a lot of, a lot of like, you know, prestigious shows and things like that were really geared towards men," Hensley says. "They seem to always have the spotlight.”

But she's noticed a shift in things over the past few years, and she's liking what she's seeing. Now, women are leading shows.

"It's been really nice to be recognized as not just a hobby potter but as a professional in the field," Hensley says.

She says it's made all the difference.

And it’s deserved because becoming a potter is all about patience and precision. Getting to where she is today has taken her several years.

"There's a lot of knowledge that has taken me, you know, a decade to actually get and know in my hands and know how and what I'm doing and how I'm forming things," Hensley says.

In a city embracing her talents, she knows her dad would be very proud of her. He is her inspiration after all.

She says her work often reflects two of her most passionate loves — food and flowers. Porcelain pots are a specialty of hers.

Hensley has a studio she works out of in her West Asheville home. You can also find her ceramics at Clayspace in the River Arts District in Asheville, or online at her website.