Artist Statement

I have always been drawn to objects whose history is written upon their surface: The river rock worn smooth from centuries of tumult; the bleached, chewed bone found on the desert floor; the bare-bones landscape of the American southwest. These things speak to me of timelessness and mystery and rouse a thousand questions that will never find an answer. It is all that I don’t know, that deepens my viewing experience. The influence of such objects and landscapes seep into every piece I make.
 
I approach the construction of each of my vessels as a sculpture-- working to create rhythm, flow, reverberation and quiet within each one. Intrigued by contrasts, I move from slow, sweeping curves to staccato points and ridges; from enclosed space to open passage; from deeply textured surface to river-rock smoothness; from black to white. It is my hope that the finished piece will bring the viewer a sense of calm and quiet.
 
My pieces are hand-built with stoneware clay, using pinch, coil and slab construction methods. After construction they are sanded smooth, sprayed with layers of slip and terra-sigilatta, burnished, and fired in oxidation to 2200˙.