I am an interdisciplinary artist living in the Midwest. My ceramics are hand-built and intuitively shaped, and honor the natural movement of the clay as it settles in response to my touch. I draw inspiration from dreams and earthly elemental forces to create utilitarian objects imbued with surreal and magical energy.
Each form is individual, handbuilt out of recycled stoneware, and hand-painted with a combination of glaze and underglaze. Ceramic is responsive from start to finish - the clay in its green state is soft, it settles and shifts in accordance with my intentional touch. Once fired, it becomes solid and dense, and I decorate it in response to its aesthetic and feel. It responds to my touch, then I respond to its form. Each individual vessel is embedded with the energy of this gentle and intentional collaboration between material and maker on a molecular level. There are also many other (several, hundreds, or thousands) possible collaborators in the making of the pieces - one being the kiln in which the vessel is fired, and to which I as the maker am always at the mercy of. Beyond this, there is the energy of the user of the piece, as well as the many others who may come into contact with it, however briefly. I believe these objects have the capacity to carry the imprint of all who use it or find value in its function or beauty. We leave energetic signatures in the world through all of our actions and movements, and these are always interacting with one another. Like lovers, whose microbiomes are forever changed by their contact with one another, we shape and are shaped by the objects in our life. It is through this energetic exchange that I am certain no two vessels can or ever could be exactly alike. The surreal, magical, sensory nature of the union between user and piece allows each vessel to transcend its utility and purpose.