Mattie began his career as a potter over 35 years ago in Los Angeles, and in 1980, set up his pottery studio in the secluded hills of Santa Cruz.

His work is bold, colorful and expressive. The pieces are large – many over 5 feet tall – and the sheer volume of their surfaces gives him a freedom that the two dimensional surface of a canvas lacks. Some of the pots speak of the 10 years he spent studying Chinese painting and calligraphy, while others are a montage of figures and design, merging colors and emotion. Painted with five layers of glazes, the designs are usually figurative, but are rendered with a love for the Modernists.