The role of the hand and the origin of materials play important roles in my thinking, as gesture and touch are important in my process. These attributes impart the work with immediacy and subtlety in telluric materials formed in geologic time. Transformation is foundational in my work, whether my abstract ceramic sculptures are created solely with my own hands or in concert with the hand of the machine through digital tools and methods. The final surfaces of these sculptures that have been pinched, paddled, burrowed, or extruded are typically vibrant, heavily textured, and mysterious. 

Recently in my research and studio practice, I have been experimenting and building with native clays that I dig in proximity to my home on Long Island, and where I teach in upstate NY, between which my time and life are split. Duality is at the core of my approach between art and science and the handmade and manufactured. Chemistry and geology intersect my studio practice, which has been influenced by my study of science as an undergraduate. This duality further fuels my approach to considering form and generative studio processes while embracing both geometry and organic structure within the language of my work. While I often set parameters to guide the development of a series or body of work, intuition continues to play a significant role in consideration of texture, form, scale, and color. Although the work is certainly painterly, it is important for the sculptures to operate in the same physical space that our bodies occupy. Sculptures require a viewer in motion and are never completely available, visually. I am drawn to this elusive and mysterious characteristic of sculpture, it is my hope to engage the curiosity of the viewer while also providing a sense of familiarity.

Titles carry important information and help develop meaning in my work. Sculptures are titled two-fold, they are first descriptive with a prefix of their dominant physical characteristic accompanied by the name of the glaze utilized. Works such as “Paddle and Pinch” and “Mallet and Burrow” reference the action imparted to construct those works; they can be interpreted as vessels, with references to the body often with apertures that act as a lens. I further these pairings by creating interesting juxtapositions of color. Color elicits feeling; it is about desire. It has symbolic meaning and psychological weight. Sometimes cringe-worthy and garish and other times harmonious, the boldness of color has become as salient as the form of the work.