Artist Statement

I grew up along the New England coast, in a family of artesian water well-drillers and multimedia artists. Exploring nature and sharing those experiences through art anchors me to home, everywhere I go. Making pottery helps me create deeper connections with others through a non-verbal mode of self-expression. I am fascinated by learning more about the raw materials and chemistry used to create ceramics. Clay tells a story about local geology based on where it is found; my art tells stories about how I came to be here now. My body of work investigates themes from personal interests as well as lived experiences of both joy and hardship. It is my intent to transform abstract concepts into tangible goods, made permanent through struggle and discipline, that can share a connection passed down through generations.

I specialize in making meticulously formed and uniquely adorned, wheel thrown functional pottery. As a practice, I lean into the challenging dialogue of working with clay, finding my own center at the wheel while the rest of my world keeps spinning. My artistic values guide the work by engaging with every possible step of the process, pushing my knowledge of materials further each time. Flower gardens, coastal landscape paintings and tattoos influence my thoughtful surface designs, informed by decades of education, experience and occupation. Incorporating organic designs as well as unique experiences into my pottery, I carefully choose colors that evoke emotion and patterns that denote special meaning to design a strong visual composition over a well-formed pot. The finished outcome is dependent on my working understanding of material versatility in a variety of kiln atmospheres.