But O'Connell has since left the high-tech world to indulge the right side of her brain. A longtime clay potter, she has worked hard to bring her vision of a Sunnyvale potters' guild and studio to life. The guild—Orchard Valley Ceramic Arts Guild—came to fruition more than three years ago. On July 23, the whole project will be completed with the grand opening of Mother Earth Clay Art Center.

"It wasn't an impulse or an overnight thing. It started as a hobby, and I fell in love with pottery as a medium and potters as a group," O'Connell says. "I don't regret the engineering path at all. I have a lot of skills because of it that have enabled me to do this."

At 10,000 square feet, the studio has 22 potter's wheels, a gallery and a room where potters can photograph their finished works. O'Connell will also sell ceramic supplies such as clay, glazes and books in a small shop, and she has already begun scheduling classes and workshops with visiting potters. Members will have access to the studio 24 hours a day, and space has been built into the design for necessary expansion.

O'Connell says she's not aware of any other pottery studio with the same features on the West Coast.

Mother Earth's existence came about in a run-about fashion. In February of 2000, O'Connell hosted her fellow potters for a series of dinners at her home. She had witnessed the benefits of a city-run guild and studio in Walnut Creek and hoped to start something in Sunnyvale. The parks and recreation department listened to O'Connell's proposal, but declined to participate. "They wished us the best of luck," she says. "Hindsight is 20/20—it's just as well."

That's because the full project took much more effort than O'Connell had anticipated. First came the establishment of the guild in January 2001, which now counts approximately 200 members from several local cities. The studio had to wait until after the guild was up and running. "I knew I was ready in 2001," O'Connell says.

She began researching pottery studios through entrepreneurs she met at ceramics conferences and then took a class at De Anza College to get her business plan in order. "The backbone of this studio is the most complicated Excel spreadsheet I've ever seen, even in my engineering career," she says. O'Connell then took her plan to three different banks before landing a loan.

After quitting her job in April 2003 to pursue the plan, she started looking for space in Sunnyvale in January of this year. That process was enlightening—O'Connell wanted a space in an office building near the intersection of Maude and Mathilda avenues. But only after looking at several different spaces did O'Connell learn about an ordinance that prohibits classes with children a certain distance from the Moffett Field landing path.

But she kept looking and found what she calls the "perfect place" at 790 Lucerne Drive.

The mother of two teenage boys, O'Connell says she got the idea for the Mother Earth name by accident. "The name just hit me as I was driving around in my yellow Beetle," she says. "'Earth' is very clay-like, and there's also a strong female element." That proactive spirit is what's driving her in these last few days before her vision finally becomes a reality.

"It's been totally energizing 24/7. The past few weeks, everything's been falling into place," O'Connell says. "This has been the opportunity to make my personal dream come true. I'd wish that on everyone."

The grand opening of the Mother Earth Clay Art Center will take place July 23 from 4 to 8 p.m. For more information, visit www.mamasclay.com or call 408.245.MAMA.