2023

The original Cernunnos was a Celtic deity of a gentle reflective masculinity. Although my figure is a female version, adorned with sacred geometry, trees and planets, the original male Cernunnos was also a listener and meditator of nature, not a subduer. I had made this sculpture the summer that Roe vs. Wade was overturned. Facing this insanely bitter news, I was appealing to some sort of ancient logic where there is an infinite compassionate universe.   

These two vases are my attempt to express the feeling while I am walking in the woods.

Vase thrown in two parts and joined, glazed in nuka type ash glaze. The glaze was poured over the surface to achieve the layering effect. From the Japanese, Nuka is an ash glaze made from burnt rice kernels.

Fluted cup glazed in a nuka type ash glaze. The surface design is done with intention to capture the character of the glaze and the way it accentuates the change in surface. Nuka means rice husk in Japanese.

I was an architect in a former life, so when I discovered handbuilding with slabs, I found my self-expression in clay. These actual "buildings" have been especially enjoyable to make. Last year I had a commission to create a ceramic replica of an historic building, and for that I created silkscreens for the windows and doors. I am now engaging their use in all sorts of other ways.

Since retiring and moving to Maine, I have been exploring cone 6 porcelain. My first try was drawing illustrations on the porcelain and coloring with underglazes. I have since discovered this much more satisfying sgraffito method. The repeat pattern and wave background create a lively surface.

Neenah Foundry Vase is made with an impression of a cast iron drainage grate from the Neenah Foundry, the largest independent foundry in the US, located in Neenah, WI, with a history stretching back more than 125 years. I make my impressions on site at the campus of Northwestern University in Evanston IL, then reassemble back at the studio. I am a former resident of Somerville, now relocated to the Midwest.

Internal Blooming, features delicate sculptural works which unexpectedly integrate complex ceramic forms with the supple tactile qualities of textiles. Strongly influenced by organic forms and natural phenomena, these collaged shapes are closely tied to biological processes of the human body.

Oscillating between the skeletal architecture of bone and the petal soft terrain of flesh, the shapes embody the subtle dance between external and internal space. The works are evocative of the ebb and flow of human life as mirrored in the blooming of a single cell dividing.

One of a series of Boats inspired by living in Rockport MA.