Suppressed Tea Pots

Rectilinear Shapes

Terra Sigillata, 2013 - 2014

Early Years, 1975-1980

Functional Works

I work deliberately within a limited vocabulary, using permutations and combinations of selected formal elements in a search for meaning and expression.  My work from 1984–2000 was mostly wheel thrown and altered, I was interested in the contradiction and paradox created from restraining a pots volume.   In my more recent  slab built work I have become interested in the feelings associated with human encounters and connections. 

Working with materials, formal issues, and the phenomena associated with pottery making, I look for the unique expressive qualities that can be discovered and achieved through process.  I want my hand to influence the process, relying and exploiting the properties of porcelain, glaze and fire to discover and achieve my desired results.
 
Incising is an activity for me, that lies somewhere between passing time and chaos management; it is human, spiritual, and meditative.  Marking time through incising is the recording of a pulse or rhythm.  It’s creating a pattern that recognizes events of the past and future possibilities.  My incising may suggest a pattern, that is sometimes interrupted by a pause, a space, and a change in direction, texture or shape.  It may be literal and mean exactly what you see.  At times it’s a serene or a changing landscape and at other times it’s figurative and suggests metaphors, exaggeration, or personification.  
 
Along with the abstract qualities of the materials, my suppressed forms explore the dialectic between shape, line, and form.  I want to make make work about humanity that allures and captivates.
 
 

Mallet Shapes

Forms, 2001-2023

Work for the Wall

To Die For, 2009

Made In China, 2005