Mary Rogers studied graphic design and calligraphy before taking up ceramics in the mid-1960s. In 1968 Rogers began to work with porcelain because of its translucent quality. She forms her paper-thin, nonutilitarian vessels directly by pinching and modeling the porcelain, which she then finishes by scraping the piece once it has dried. For added surface decoration she frequently carves the edges and occasionally pierces the body of the vessel.