Clay has so many tactile qualities. The silky feel of slip, the rough texture of sandy clay, the glossy glazes, the various temperatures of clay- cool and damp, dry and chalky, hot out of the kiln; ceramics fulfills my desire for the tactile at all stages. As an artist and maker, I am as interested in the process as in the final product. Each step in crafting a piece is a reward itself. Clay isn’t always predictable. I like that constant push and pull of having control of a piece while also responding to the material. I get great satisfaction from knowing I have developed a substantial depth of knowledge needed in order to understand the ceramic process and create the work imagined. It’s so easy to view ceramics as this confusing and magical thing. It has a mind of its own at times, when it goes into the kiln it changes where you can’t see it, and often in unexpected ways. Knowing the whys and hows of this is a little bit like being a wizard- who wouldn’t want to feel like a wizard at times? That being said, there is still so much to learn, improve on, and develop, it’s never ending, which means I’m never bored. I thrive on exploring technical hypotheses, testing and refining glaze recipes, and taking risks. At the heart of it, I work in ceramics because I get to play with mud and fire while challenging myself technically and creatively.
I like to move back and forth between functional and sculptural work. I am enchanted by the tactile relationship and physical interactions we have with functional objects. As such I take great joy in creating everyday objects, and often find myself hard pressed to part with them. In my studio I am continually picking up and interacting with these pieces to better get to know them and their tactile personality- the weight, the feel, how they influence or perhaps ask to be held- often intimately cupped in your hand(s).
My sculptural work tends towards abstract ceramic pieces that encourage visual exploration through the formal qualities of positive/negative space, texture, line and movement.
Most recently I've been diving into functional work that is wheel thrown and altered, playing with the push and pull of control and technique alongside chance and material properties. The finished result is something that preserves the sense of softness found in unfired clay and a record of the maker.