Artist Statement
Ceramics is ancient and ubiquitous. I have been inspired all my life by this fluid substance, keeping in mind the past as I add my vision to the vast body of work. My artwork consists of hand-built, pit-fired, porcelain clay. The clay is fired four times: bisque (hardening the raw clay), glaze (affixing a base coat of glaze in selected areas), luster (shiny coating containing precious metals and gold), and finally “pit-fired”. In this pit-fire process, the ceramic creations are placed outdoors in a brick container surrounded by wood chips of mahogany, cypress, or pine. The chips are set on fire and the smoke stains the porous areas of the clay in unpredictable ways, depending upon their placement in the kiln, wind conditions, and type of wood chips used.
My process is guided by improvisation and results in organic forms, inspired by intuitive experimentation. I don’t decide the volumetric form of a piece when I begin. Instead, I build it layer by layer and alter the direction the form takes as the clay suggests. The vessel often acquires a human proportion, and represents the external and internal connections of the body. Even though I may be inspired by architecture or other artist’s imagery, my ceramics never lose their connections to the human form. In all cases my creative process is a conversation with the plastic and unpredictable nature of clay. In doing this, I move away from the functional history of pottery and celebrate the beauty of the material for its own sake. I honor the vast 2,000-year history of porcelain and the fire that makes it permanent. I embrace the opportunity I have as a contemporary artist to incorporate the elements of flow and chance.