Artist statement…

I have come to view my exploration of ceramics as something like being a traveler in a foreign country. I speak the language, but I am not at home enough to take communication for granted. I actually enjoy this edge, this uncertainty. As such, I treat my endeavors as an adventure in discovery, not the repetition of tried and true formulas. Every lump of clay has its own destiny. I sometimes even joke to myself that you can only be truly free from habit if you forget even the best of what you have done. And while this means that because I don't settle for reproducing the same proven form I suffer countless disappointments, it also keeps my work fresh and new. In working with clay I rely on the unexpected and am continually rewarded with pleasant surprises. In this regard I feel that I will always be a student of clay and hope to maintain the humility to continue learning from the medium and my peers.

That being said, I do have interests and preferences. I always look at a pot's form first,its surface second, and its decoration/glazing third. I am not as interested in curves as I am in angles. I like bulbous forms the least and cylindrical based forms the best. I am learning to enjoy firing in oxidation as a friend, but I love the woodkiln as a soul mate. I promote a structured surface in the way that a leaf has organic structure rather than mechanical or intentional formalizations and exact relationships. If I am obsessed with anything it is my pursuit of beauty in service of functional pots that will enjoy a life of their own in someone's home.