Windowsill Vase

Artist's description of the work: "I started making these when I was stuck at home during (COVID-19) quarantine and could only make work on the picnic table in my backyard. It is handbuilt and fits on a windowsill, the only clear spot in my room that got any light during a dark time."

ARTIST STATEMENT
I aim to create work that captures the sensory experience of environments of the natural world. I want my pots to transmit the feeling of a place and a time, while also capturing the touch and tension of the moment in time when they were made. In order for a person to understand my work, I feel that my pots need to be handled, examined, and lived with over time, as they reveal themselves like a landscape.

I am endlessly drawn to the materials of ceramics and to its rich history. I take much inspiration from the global historical traditions of vessels, as well a modern context of what sorts of pots are needed and desired for the food and drinks we consume today. The effects of time, growth, and erosion influence my decisions about form and surface treatment to create a harmonious environment. Much like the world around us becomes the backdrop for the activities we enjoy, I think of my pots as the backdrop for the food and flowers they display, quietly elevating the experience of our meals and homes.

I fire my work in soda and wood kilns, which accentuate lines and curves much the way wind and snow accentuate the edges of trees or the slope of a hill. Dark clay sets a backdrop for soft slips and glazes to create veiled layers of depth that act as vignettes of the world. Simultaneously, volume and movement in forms captures the tension of wet clay that pushes exploration of my work. I am trying to find a balance between setting the clay up with potential but allowing it to breathe on its own.