Recent Work
Aftermath
Catastrophic, 2016.
"In this body of work, I use the visual language of domestic objects and household disasters to reflect and comment upon the turbulent emotional spaces that follow times of personal tragedy and hardship.
To explore themes of both destruction and recovery, I intentionally create damage in the process of making my pieces. Dishes are broken and then painstakingly put back together with shining gold lines to highlight the repairs. Household objects such as books, blankets and cutlery are subjected to the fossilizing effects of liquid clay and the fiery heat of the kiln, resulting in permanent transformations that call to mind the effects of flood, fire and time.
My artistic process itself is a metaphor for the processing of a difficult time in life. During it, some things are permanently lost or forever changed, while others are rebuilt in ways that honor and celebrate the effects of their destruction and subsequent transformation. In this work, I aim to capture the sudden destructive quality of catastrophic personal loss, as well as the painstaking and poignant efforts of recovery and closure."
View image gallery
To explore themes of both destruction and recovery, I intentionally create damage in the process of making my pieces. Dishes are broken and then painstakingly put back together with shining gold lines to highlight the repairs. Household objects such as books, blankets and cutlery are subjected to the fossilizing effects of liquid clay and the fiery heat of the kiln, resulting in permanent transformations that call to mind the effects of flood, fire and time.
My artistic process itself is a metaphor for the processing of a difficult time in life. During it, some things are permanently lost or forever changed, while others are rebuilt in ways that honor and celebrate the effects of their destruction and subsequent transformation. In this work, I aim to capture the sudden destructive quality of catastrophic personal loss, as well as the painstaking and poignant efforts of recovery and closure."
View image gallery
Sense of Self Portraits
Chrysallis, 2015.
"Sense of self is a psychological term that describes one’s perceptions, beliefs, judgments, and feelings about oneself as a person. Sense of self is a complicated construct that is constantly changing over the life of an individual, and involves such things as self-image, self-esteem and self-awareness. In my sculptural self-portraits, I aim to illustrate my own personal sense of self, which has been recently affected by a time of great personal loss. The poignant ability of hardship to both tear and repair one’s sense of self is the quality I aim to capture in this body of work.
I perceive the effects of such things as loss and grief to be largely held in the invisible emotional space within my body. In these sculptures, I create partial female figures from ripped and torn pieces of paper-thin porcelain clay, realizing them as small fragments of the body; the suggestion of the back and shoulders, or the soft curves of breasts and stomach. Due to the phenomena of perceptual closure, which is the human tendency to perceive an incomplete pattern or object as complete, the viewer’s mind fills in the missing parts of the figure and perceives it to be whole despite it obvious damage and emptiness. Some figures are covered in hand-written text that is legible but not readily understandable; a representation of internal thoughts, feelings and beliefs. The creamy white color inherent to porcelain clay gives these figures a timeless, ethereal and evocative sensibility, calling to mind Classical marble sculptures as well as ghosts, bones and relics."
View image gallery
I perceive the effects of such things as loss and grief to be largely held in the invisible emotional space within my body. In these sculptures, I create partial female figures from ripped and torn pieces of paper-thin porcelain clay, realizing them as small fragments of the body; the suggestion of the back and shoulders, or the soft curves of breasts and stomach. Due to the phenomena of perceptual closure, which is the human tendency to perceive an incomplete pattern or object as complete, the viewer’s mind fills in the missing parts of the figure and perceives it to be whole despite it obvious damage and emptiness. Some figures are covered in hand-written text that is legible but not readily understandable; a representation of internal thoughts, feelings and beliefs. The creamy white color inherent to porcelain clay gives these figures a timeless, ethereal and evocative sensibility, calling to mind Classical marble sculptures as well as ghosts, bones and relics."
View image gallery
Past Work
Veritable Garden
Stacking tea cups, 2013.
"In this body of functional porcelain work, produced from 2010 to 2014, I explored the use of bold and stylized graphic textile patterns as applied to tableware. Drawing on my graphic design background, where images are constrained by the margins of the page, I created boundaries for the colorful and intricate motifs, leaving the user to wonder how the patterns would continue on. Utilizing patterns and motifs in various sizes, I was able to create a dense and layered surface that invited both visual and tactile exploration.
To create this work, basic forms were first thrown on the potter's wheel or slip-cast in a porcelain clay body, and then embellished with molded and hand-carved sprigs. For detailed information on this unique decorative technique, please check out my how-to article from Pottery Making Illustrated."
View image gallery
To create this work, basic forms were first thrown on the potter's wheel or slip-cast in a porcelain clay body, and then embellished with molded and hand-carved sprigs. For detailed information on this unique decorative technique, please check out my how-to article from Pottery Making Illustrated."
View image gallery