Artist statement

My work focuses on my interaction and relationship to the landscape around me, questioning place and belonging. Through active observation I find myself searching for visual information. I see this action as deliberate pause, either visual or physical within my daily movement and routine. These moments of pause can be spontaneous and quick, or developed over time through familiarity and repetition. It is my hope that each of my works present a quiet and reflective evocation of place, similar to how I interpret my interaction to the landscape. Through this process of observation and making I am able to better orient myself within space to create a greater connection and understanding of place.

I work with iron rich and coarse stoneware clay, primarily fired in mid to high fired wood or salt kilns. Much of my work enlists and resonates with concepts of local material, time, labor, and community. My intention is not to depict a hyper realistic interpretation of what I see. Instead, I draw from a minimalist approach to form, pattern, texture and light. Although the work is a reflection of my own experience, my intention is that my work enables others to question their own relation to their surroundings; both personal and shared.

I continue to ask these questions as I move and work in different locations. There is excitement in the unknown and unfamiliar while experiencing a space for the first time. Additionally, there can be a deep connection to a place of long residence. For me questing these realities, social structures, personal biases and environments, help provide me with a sense of understanding and belonging within the world around me.