MFA Artist Statement:
The process of hand-building with clay gives volume and mass to my thoughts and is an integral part of my creative practice. The imprints left on the surface are the indelible record of this method. Through the affordances of this material, earthenware has an uncomplicated way of encoding the marks of my hands, storing those actions, and recalling them to the viewer on its surface. This specific material investigation assists in the construction of my perceptions of time, narrative, and self. I am ultimately concerned with the exploration of humanistic ideas about existence, agency, relationships, memory, and mortality.
Earthenware is weak and porous, yet strong and tensile as a material. When the iron rich clay reaches a high temperature it begins to warp and the carefully placed lines and shapes begin to move, often altering the original structure with dynamic and precarious results. This process magnifies the places of collision and the idea of absence. Once it is fired, whether in shards or as a complete object, clay will never cease to be stone- in its permanence. This constant, never-ending state of evolving illustrates that everything is less than perfect mirroring the quality of memories.
Through fragmented vessel forms, I explore intimate stories dismantled, distorted, and rewritten. I create parables that conjure the individual and collective body, and the means to shift representation and perspective. The form portrays the moment when emotion is being a translated gesture. The human body is a container. It holds precious elements that give life, but it also encloses inner thoughts and emotions that are created by the individual. Skin is the ultimate protector of the body. It shields the inside from harmful diseases and protects from the abrasive elements that are looking to cause harm. Skin is like a window, allowing those that live beyond to simply gaze inside and experience the information that is meant to be private. In moments of embarrassment, anger, and happiness, the skin displays this information for all to see; capturing those fleeting moments of connection and separation that shape our lives.
Employing an aesthetic of accumulation, these forms are more than just aesthetically pleasing objects - they represent the value and judgment of relationships between myself and others. As I construct, I am obsessively trying to control chaos. This chaos is reflective of my everyday thoughts and immanent of everyday repetition and routine. How can I create an interesting, subtle form that is confrontational, but eases conflict? This is a consistent question in my recent idea process.
Post-Baccalaureate Artist Statement:
Clay remembers the pinch marks of my fingertips — recording my actions and capturing the texture within the surface. Through coiling and pinching my mark-making become depictions of touch, thought, and labor. By slowly hand-building, I guide the vessel through the intimate process of creation.
Using a vibrant, red terracotta clay I have made decorative vessels with no utility. These ornate vessels reference the material objects that reside in the home: knick-knacks. The knick-knack serves as a novelty symbol made for display, and these vessels mimic the non-functionality of a home souvenir. I intend the viewer to think deeper about their connection to the objects that exist in the household.
I create large-scale domestic scenes out of cardboard to serve as a supportive context for the ceramic work. Each sculpture and installation represents a way to better acknowledge the tactile relationships to the objects that surround us. The ceramic objects in these scenes remain the primary focus to a narrative of personal family experience. Wherein the vessels serve no function, they symbolize the dysfunction within families. I want to show how objects and their environment reflect one another, allowing for the possibility of human emotion.
BFA Artist Statement:
Countless hours spent walking through nature was the only way I knew how to occupy my solitary time, before I discovered clay as an outlet. Each earthy-colored coil I overlap and press into the last holds a reminiscence of my footsteps. I cherish every small coil and leave every pinch mark simply to satisfy the need to create a rhythmic, forward motion.
Clay has a memory that records the successive layers from my fingerprints and captures an intimacy found in each layer. I anticipate the dynamic flow of the pieces while permitting the process to generate its own intentions. The final wandering forms correlate to my undetermined walking journey. The repetitive coils lead me to a pensive state of mind. I patiently embrace the pace of nature as it unfolds in quiet, meditative hours in the studio.
The accumulating rippling texture, with its geologic and organic analogues, creates tactile desire. The undermined weight of the numerous forms is the advantage in the arrangement and organization of my installations. The interplay of light and shadows challenges the viewer’s perspectives of gravity. This endeavor makes my coiled forms grow in diverse directions instead of simply upwards.