Julie was born in 1965 and has been potting since 1977. She learned to work the clay from her mother, Victoria Gutierrez, and also counts two sisters, Effie Garcia and Sally M. Gutierrez, as inspiration. Julie often makes animals and a mushroom shape of her own creation, in addition to more traditional pottery shapes. Her trademark design is a swirling sgraffito pattern that mimics flowers or a spider's web in both red- and blackware. On occasion, Julie likes to work with her husband, Johnny Tapia, also of Santa Clara.
