Artist Statement

 

I find so much beauty in living things, their anatomy, their chemistry, and their biology. As a city dweller, a dancer, and a living body in general, the flow of natural systems in motion--i.e. bodies, muscles, cells--has always interested me. Wet clay, composed of pulverized stone and water, has become a natural medium choice for expressing these concepts and has also become my inspiration.  Fresh clay can be worked without limit while it is wet, but when time and heat are applied, a moment in time can be suspended. I like to think that the objects I create move continuously before being coaxed into position through the processes of drying and firing. 

Our society values clear thought, organization and perfection, and clay has given me the opportunity to think less linearly, and to manage my expectations. When I settle it in to make a particular form, I choose to let the medium alter my vision. It is far more important to me to learn how to adapt and be open to change than to try to control things. Some of the works with which I am most satisfied developed when I stopped struggling for control of the medium and let it guide me.