Artist Statement
I want my pieces to be a fresh interpretation of the objects that enhance our daily rituals from preparing and serving food to arranging flowers from the garden and spending time with family in our home. I have always enjoyed the connection that ceramics has with the history of makers. I find comfort in the fact that the technologies that I use are not so different than those of so many others who have worked in clay throughout the world. My pots are made with a wooden paddle and round stone. The vessel is slowly raised by beating, turning, and drying the clay repeatedly until the walls are thinly stretched and the form is filled with life. I pierce the fragile, unfired walls of the clay with a tapered tool and then painstakingly carve the holes with a thin blade. The piercings give visual access to the interior of the vessel. In the illuminated sculpture collection, the light physically embodies the interior energy of the vessel while the piercings allow this energy to flow beyond the walls of the form and into the surrounding space. The soft patterns of light are like an exhalation, filling the dark room with a sense of quiet repose. It is my hope that work fill the user with a moment of détente from the noise of the world where they might stop, and take a breath.
