Using clay as my primary material, I have found an entry way into my subconscious. I work intuitively with a palate comprised of many things. First I create a structure which I overlay with painted patterns of emotional experience, sensory based memories, cellular formations, and other discoveries. Working within a human/animal narrative, I engage in a dialogue that witnesses and reflects an invitation into my world.

My initial ceramic explorations were inspired by the work of folk artists from a variety of cultures: Greek, Pre-Columbian, African, Oceanic.... I continue to be guided by these teachers today. Through my work I feel very connected to those early makers who, like me often filtered their worlds through this basic organic material. I am also guided by a love of painting, and I work to infuse a texturally rich and emotionally charged surface upon the objects that I make.

This work is made from terra cotta clay, it is entirely hand built using minimal tools. My techniques are very basic. Pinching the clay, using slabs, or coiling to achieve nuance or scale are the primary methods I use to build a piece. My touch is purposeful and evident in each piece. The work is generally made directly with my hands, and often has a clear reference to the body (whether human or animal). An intimate scale, evident in all of my work speaks directly to the viewer's capacity to personally interact with a piece that fits easily within their grasp.

All of my work is one of a kind, though I do on occasion work in a series, playing with one idea in small yet extensive ways. I am interested in interweaving the tradition of making objects inspired by our being human, within a social context and sensitivity to the sensual within each piece. Clay is the perfect material for me. Its giving nature encourages and allows an intuitive approach, which evokes my imagination and curiosity, and encourages my subconscious to be voiced through my hands. Through gestures of listening, my senses are awakened and I become attentive to impulses and images that make their way through my psyche into the physicality of the clay and ultimately into my sculpture. The process of considering and working with the surface is as important to me as the making of each piece. Each sculpture generates an energy that informs the surface decoration, which I think of as the external landscape or consciousness of the object. My surfaces are painted with terra sigillatas, which are pigmented clay slips that are applied to the surface in multiple layers, and then fired in an electric kiln. An extensive palate of hand mixed colors helps achieve surfaces that are multilayered, at times obsessively detailed, and entertain a graphic sensibility. I like the idea of both getting lost inside the surface of a piece, and the clarity it takes to find the way back out.