Artist Statement

In nature there are diverse states of existence that I continue to study; the structure of nature, the result of the state of nature by interaction with other forces of nature, the resilience of nature, and the complexity and awe in the engineering of nature. All these states of nature are rooted and formed in the motivation for the need to survive, and provide endless influences for diverse construction and conceptual possibilities for art making. And, more specifically, endless opportunities for metaphor use; speaking to the depth and complexity of living with the hopes of revealing the human condition, the potential of positivity, in visual and sculptural form utilizing traditional and non-traditional ceramic materials and processes.

Within the study of ecology and ethology these states of existence are articulated. As a point of reference for sculptural installation building, I have been utilizing specific structural engineering qualities found in functional growth relationships and dynamics of animal and insect structures always highlighting uniqueness of regional researched information that deserves amplification.

My work focuses on the respect for process. Formally and structurally, my interest is in the details: quality of craft, connections, and structure, and conceptually an understanding of place and all physical parts to the whole. I build site-responsive clay and fibrous sculptural works made from local materials, such as recycled 100% natural fiber clothing and industrial castoff surplus materials, cotton thread from the bedding industry or sisal from the burlap bag industry, all to beat down to pulp and formed into handmade paper sheets to use in construction.

Installation construction is influenced conceptually by specificities from research, but does not replicate nature. I look at the dynamics of the region and search for the untold story or the anomaly that has human metaphorical weight. Like an animal that uses the vernacular from place, I, too, upcycle humble materials and remake into what I hope to be exquisite spacial experiences made up of intricate sculptural forms.