Artist Statement
I have always wanted to be a potter, never any other kind of artist. Utilitarian ceramics allow me to create something accessible, complex, beautiful, and of service. Pottery is a uniquely challenging art form, it asks the maker to consider concept, form, and surface not in isolation, but in relation to use. The task of balancing function with visual appeal is difficult. It requires precision, restraint, and deep consideration. Every decision must support both artistic aesthetics and utility, appealing broadly while holding meaning. Though often under appreciated, functional forms carry beauty into daily life, a job that is to challenging.
Working hard is in my nature, and I find contentment in a medium that demands persistent labor and humility. I work with clay because it is both limitless and grounding. The tactile allure of a vessel captivates, even at a glance. The maker is responsible for crafting beauty that serves and exists harmoniously within its environment. How a pot feels in use creates a moment of synchronicity between object and person.
My work reflects moments that cause me pause. Often these experiences are in nature, when I feel singular and humbled by expansive land and sky. Wide horizons, shifting skies, mountains, and natural patterns translate through color and form. Ideas often begin with color. Tinkering with glazes to find the perfect pigment has evolved beyond an obligatory step in the process and now acts as a catalyst in the studio and a necessity of expression. An admiration for the straightforward elegance of modern design provides a counterbalance to natural inspiration, reflective of my upbringing in the Finger Lakes region of western New York. Crop lines in a field or windmills atop rolling hills coexist with nature and define the beauty of this environment. This results in the use of simplified line, sleek forms, and color to communicate ideas and influences embedded in my pottery.
Functionality is always present. Simple incisions invite the hand; soft rims support the lip. These details bring a piece to its full purpose: an object rich in visual impact that also invites interaction, even if only imagined by the viewer. By bringing my ceramics to a table setting, a shelf, or into the hand, I create pieces that subtly shift awareness. Pottery can comfort, mark an occasion, or become intertwined with a life. A pot is powerful.