Artist Statement
With a reverence for fine craft, I’ve worked in porcelain for 25 years doing an investigation of subtle, understated utilitarian forms. I pare down my thrown forms to essential curves - shoulder, belly, lip, foot - and fill these curves with the volume of inhaled breath, conscious that all parts share in creating a unified form. The gestural designs in the glazes add an accent to the abstract dance. While my goal remains to infuse functional objects with breath and grace, the work itself is suddenly changing. I want energy, excitement, movement, and surprise. These qualities used to be found mostly in the gestural glaze designs, but have evolved into the clay contours themselves with spirals creating the undercurrent for motion in the forms.
My work is wheel-thrown, cone 10, porcelain with original glazes. I layer the glazes to achieve the decorative abstract symbols, and encourage chrome-tin pink flushes to add richness to the color palette. The nude platters are drawn with “underglaze crayon” over various slips, then soda-fired to achieve the glossy surface and color flashing.
