The mark and history of the hand play important roles in my philosophy and practice as an artist. I work in clay for its distinct physicality quality of malleability, which allow gesture and touch to be imparted with immediacy and subtlety, as well as its pre-historic origins and being directly from and of the earth. These works elicit a desire to touch and investigate further.

I’m interested in alchemy, the history of objects, and in the relationship between nature and the manmade. Sculptures are titled two-fold; they are first descriptive with a prefix of their method of construction followed by the name of the glazes utilized. I further these pairings by creating interesting juxtapositions of color. Color elicits feeling; it is about desire. It has symbolic meaning and psychological weight.

I began making the work included here after the recent presidential election. Rather than internalize my fear and frustration I chose a method of self-empowerment in the studio. I embarked on a process of beating large mounds of clay with a mallet or homemade paddle. Many works are then pierced with a large wood stick in a stabbing and rolling motion to reveal a piercing or aperture. This paddling, burrowing, and pinching with my fingers often yields a form has an inside and outside and has an abstract reference to the body. These actions are both cathartic and metaphorical.