Statement
I am interested in fusing personal content with functional ceramic forms. I try to create objects that have a purpose in our lives while reflectlng my own questions about our place in the world. Themes such as beauty, technology, and humans' relationship with other animals are prevalent in my work. The imagery is borrowed from both the real world and my own imaginings. This imagery tends to come together much like my dreams. Characters, objects and perhaps a brief sense of place, glide across the surface, come into focus and then morph into something new all together.
My functional pottery is usually simple in form, with the exception of features such as an ornate handle or sculptural pedestal. I use various techniques that combine painterly surfaces with tightly rendered images and designs. I fire each piece several times, slowly building upon the composition with each firing. Through drawing and form, I often imitate botanical patterns and growth structures like those found in Baroque architecture and decorative arts. This contrasts with patches of glaze that drip and ooze and depictions of a tense, and often aggressive, human presence. In both the drawing and the sculptural aspects of my work, I strive to create a dramatic interplay between opposites.
Clusters of birds rest upon an ornate network of branches that bear organ-like fruits, sagging under their own weight. A human's muscular, flexed arm cradles the head of a cow, while both balance a vertical pile of shiny pink dots. One may ask if these situations are threatening and who exactly is threatened. I think these questions speak about the way in which we relate to other animals- a relationship I view as both curious and complicated. In my work, the delineations between the roles of nurturer, aggressor and prey are often unclear. My work does not offer definitive answers. I try, instead, to create a personal world that tests my thoughts, fears and questions.
My functional pottery is usually simple in form, with the exception of features such as an ornate handle or sculptural pedestal. I use various techniques that combine painterly surfaces with tightly rendered images and designs. I fire each piece several times, slowly building upon the composition with each firing. Through drawing and form, I often imitate botanical patterns and growth structures like those found in Baroque architecture and decorative arts. This contrasts with patches of glaze that drip and ooze and depictions of a tense, and often aggressive, human presence. In both the drawing and the sculptural aspects of my work, I strive to create a dramatic interplay between opposites.
Clusters of birds rest upon an ornate network of branches that bear organ-like fruits, sagging under their own weight. A human's muscular, flexed arm cradles the head of a cow, while both balance a vertical pile of shiny pink dots. One may ask if these situations are threatening and who exactly is threatened. I think these questions speak about the way in which we relate to other animals- a relationship I view as both curious and complicated. In my work, the delineations between the roles of nurturer, aggressor and prey are often unclear. My work does not offer definitive answers. I try, instead, to create a personal world that tests my thoughts, fears and questions.