Artist Statement

I am a ceramic artist who primarily focuses on the relationship between form and function throughout the use of wheel thrown pottery. My inspiration comes from the creation of utilitarian objects such as bowls, vessels, and cups, where I pay careful attention to proportions, surface designs, and balance, to transform everyday forms into unique and tactile pieces. Ideas and inspiration often flow to me through close observation of the natural world, architectural structures, and most importantly historical ceramic traditions, which I often use to help guide textures, shapes and surfaces that I develop within my work in the studio. I find lots of value within the origins and lineage of pottery and how a form can carry history, while still serving a purpose in present time. This is similar to how the growth of my ideas and creation progress relate to the evolution of pottery, which can be seen throughout my pieces and how ideas and progression has been carried along throughout the years.

I was originally introduced to creating art through photography. As a beginning artist it was somewhat easy for me to take a simple photograph, because at first, I was creating art for the sake of creating it, not paying much attention to details or the meaning behind what I was creating. Over the years I’ve explored many different mediums and expanded my experience and skills, experimenting with all sorts of detail, surface designs, and forms, I realized my goal for my art was for it to look as unique and different from other ceramic work out there. This was a serious change for my art career as it finally felt like I had found my calling, style, and inspiration for my work. This change helps differentiate my current work from my past work, by defining the actual meaning and purpose of the pieces I create. I want to focus on creating art that pleases me and makes me happy, without having to wonder all the time if someone’s going to like it or not.

As I continue to redefine and better my approach to wheel thrown functional ceramics, I feel grounded and confident with exploring and carrying on subtle refences to history, nature, and architecture styles. I’m confident knowing that my work is an ongoing study and practice of balance between structure and flexibility, intuition and precision, as well as the past and present. Ceramics intrigues me for more than just utility reasons, but for the amiability to hold meaning, emotion, and thought through material and form. Moving forward I set goals for myself to strengthen my connection between tradition and experimentation while allowing each piece to become a record of where I’ve been.