Artist Statement

O master, pardon me, if yet in vain thou art my master, and I fail to bring before men’s eyes the image of the thing my heart is filled with

William Morris

In my practice I celebrate all the little evidences of making. I aim to reveal, never conceal. I value vigorous, evocative gesture. Line and form are always of primary concern. The intrigue of palimpsest and the “battle for meaning” across a surface guides whatever decorative instinct I have. My tastes in texture and color are drawn mostly from the messier parts of reality–decay, growth, erosion, flow. That said, geometric order and symmetry are powerfully alluring to me.

Ceramics could be described as a record of how we touch, or how we have touched. The urgent press of a knuckle or the firm swipe of a thumb over the belly of a pot can communicate across centuries. As I reach into the whirling mud, it is always an exercise in hope. I believe in this material, these methods, the ceramic process—I trust it completely. This sets me free.

Like all potters, I work in an endless cycle. A primordial circuit looping forever, self-informing and self-expressive. The work I create is rarely designed, it is discovered. I perform it into existence, and surprise myself. I trust my senses and accept what leaves the fire as honest.