Artist's Statement
I first discovered my love for clay at the tender age of 15 – and now thirty years later I sometimes look at my hands in wonderment that I continue to grow and enjoy creating with clay. Recently I had the opportunity to visit my teacher, and still active sculptor, Toshiko Takaezu for her 80th birthday, confirming the tremendous journey yet ahead!
Currently I work in my Homer studio on Kachemak Bay, making my living as a studio potter and sculptor. I create my pots to be successful in several ways: comfortable to use, enjoyable to the eye, and interesting to think about. In this way, I create a sense of caring and aesthetic gratification that nurtures human life and fortifies it against indifference.
I like how pottery brings art intimately into our everyday lives. Besides their utilitarian value, they are rich metaphors. For instance, the words we use to describe the shapes of pots (lip, neck, shoulder, and belly) reflect our imaging of ourselves in the clay, acknowledging their likeness to living things. Pots similarly relate to our spiritual and emotive spheres. A wide open generous bowl can be intuitively associated with a sense of offering, sustenance and abundance. These ways of relating to clay are grounding influences in my work.
As an object typically sized to fit the embrace of our hands, pottery is a close, unimposing presence where utilitarian and aesthetic considerations are uniquely intertwined. My sculpture, on the other hand, is commanding. They tend to be large, 4-9’ tall. Being free from functional requirements and on a human scale, they make the metaphor more obvious. This is why I work on a large scale with clay.
My sculpture ranges in form from figurative and architectural abstraction to classic pottery shapes. They grow out of my personal need to address certain issues or to express specific feelings – some very universal like love, grief, the wonder of regeneration, or the sense that there may be more to us than our earthly selves. Others deal more temporally with our human response to specific environmental and social concerns. Sculpting objects helps me deepen my understanding of the world as I probe a mystery and try to gain understanding.
I have opened up many of my sculpture and added glass, allowing light to penetrate. Most recently, I am being moved to incorporate stone, wood and metal. I am inspired by this aesthetic and expressive expansion every bit as much as the technical challenges it poses. My studio has grown to be a receptacle for downed birch trees, copper flashing, captivating stone trailered off the beach, and a glass slumping kiln.
My work commonly shows the mark of the maker—one can usually read my finger marks in the clay and sense the irregularity of the hand made object. I often inform the viewer about my construction methods by leaving coils or paddle impressions visible. My intention here is for viewers to understand some of how the pieces are made, which strengthens the personal connection and draws people to engage the object in a deeper way.
I intend my work, whether functional or sculptural, to reach people on an equally deep and personal level, transforming common experience into moments of resonance and reflection.