2021

I have used a new design to define the shape of this bowl, when carving it. The energy of the lines, as they move around the bowl, is exciting to me. I am experimenting with similar patterning on a variety of other forms in my studio now.

This piece is part of a series entitled the Imaginary Vase. Drawings were originally made of vases that could not be created, would be difficult to make, out of ceramics. These drawings were modified to be made in ceramics while remaining challenging "imaginary" forms.

I have always enjoyed playing one side of a piece against another, either with "opposite" imagery or of something totally different.

I carve a low bas-relief illustration in damp plaster. When the plaster is bone dry, I tape a fence around the rectangle to catch the 1/8" flowing porcelain slip. When slip is leather hard, I remove the porcelain slab onto another plaster slab, with a recessed center to make the rainbow.

After becoming a mother, I felt a deep-rooted fear and vulnerability for my children’s safety, wherever danger might come from. However, I also began to recognize a primal fury in myself to protect my children that matched the ferociousness of any alligator. I believe this strength is not something new brought on by having children, but an inherent power unburied and rediscovered that all women carry.

In her nakedness, this big ol’ gal stood raw and exposed. Her body tattoo has the uncanny ability to mask her vulnerability. Here she stands—strong, confident, and at ease with her body.

A sweet little melon acts as a soft landing for this little bee. What will happen to our pollinators? So fragile are these tiny creatures.

Since I don’t decide the final form of my pieces, there is sometimes a gap or broken line that I fill with a piece of brass wire after the firing to uplift the piece instead of discarding it. This is a 3D play on the practice of Kintsugi, the Japanese art of repairing broken pottery by mending the areas of breakage with lacquer dusted or mixed with powdered gold.

For the black lines I mix the porcelain slip with a ceramic stain before casting the piece. This way the piece has the color all the way through the clay instead of a surface treatment. This allows me to have a sanded matte finish, without requiring added color or glaze application.

This stoneware bowl is glazed with ashes from a beloved tree that had to be cut down. I had the tree experts pile the entire tree, needles and all for drying and then burned it in an outdoor furnace. The glaze is 50% ash and 50% feldspar.