Ceramics is my passion. For the past ten years I have been devoted to the craft of turning wet clay into a wide variety of sculptural and functional art works. My voracious appetite for testing and trying new things taught me early on that success with clay depends on persistence and patience. Exploring each approach for its limitations and growth potential is the method in which I develop new work. It is about taking a trait and exploiting it, dividing the parts to make decisions systematically. Each approach, raku, wood firing, porcelain and redware is addressed differently. The opposing approaches permit my exploration of motifs and ways of working that may not exist if all four were not explored. Not only does each firing process open windows to their own worlds but also unlocks answers in other methods of building and firing.
Experimenting and evolving in all areas is a necessity to my work and me. Each process is going in different directions but once in awhile they cross paths and share moments. Failures are as important as successes in the development of new ideas. I make a lot of mistakes or work that doesn’t hit the mark, but without pushing the limits of the materials and of the ideas you become stagnant. I glimpse a few steps ahead at what is coming up but with each push forward the future changes and new paths appear or a new process is formed. Previously abandoned styles are revisited with the current knowledge and are recultivated. Breathing new life into traditional methods and functional forms is extremely rewarding and continues to motivate me to explore ceramics.
