Open gallery
I create art that is an homage to the natural world; its tremendous beauty and power continuously inspire me. My artwork is a product and a reflection of the strong personal connection I have with the earth. Asymmetry, atmospheric firings, jagged edges, natural colors, rough textures, and simplistic glazes and forms are important characteristics of my work that express this connection. I am influenced by Japanese ceramic artists and traditions, as well as aesthetic and conceptual ideas that stem from Zen Buddhist philosophy, most of all wabi-sabi. Wabi-sabi embraces imperfection, impermanence, and incompletion; it is a celebration of the beauty, freedom, and unpredictability of the natural world.
These ideas have led me to embrace the lack of control that is so important to my artwork. After the vessels are thrown and altered, they are placed in the forest and left unprotected. The end result is a collaboration with the environment and its inhabitants that connects each vessel to the natural world. Additionally, the glazes are a product of the same environment. I make glazes primarily with ash from the wood of native tree species that I collect and burn. Once glazed, the work is fired in atmospheric environments. The volatile flames of the soda firings create variable outcomes that differ from piece to piece. These elements of uncertainty and randomness during the firing process further connect my work to the
natural world.