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 the expectations I have for myself. Making clay objects gives me the chance to go where the moment takes me. When I settle it in to make a particular form that I have had on my mind, I let the medium alter my vision. I find that while I work clay, there are so many factors that can change my initial concept. It is far more important to me to learn how to adapt and be open to change than to execute my original concept. Some of the works with which I am most satisfied developed when I stopped struggling for control of the medium.

When I create art, I feel like I am contributing something to society. Art is one of the very few things that humans create that inspires others to cultivate it. I hope that one day I create something that will move at least one person enough to care for it and share it with others.