Artist Statement

I make functional and decorative ceramic objects made out of brown and black stoneware for the everyday ritual. I am instinctively drawn to the natural world and the connection we have to plants. I am inspired by and curious about how that connection can nourish us, sustain us, and heal us. I draw inspiration from all around me from the texture of tree bark, the moonlight as it shimmers over fern leaves at night, the herbs in my garden, and rocks found on the shore of Lake Superior.

I want my pieces to invite the user to connect deeper to their innate relationship with the natural world, a connection that is so often obscured (not lost) by our use of technology. I meld the modern form with antiquated, natural imagery and rustic surface treatments, showing that both can live in a symbiotic relationship with one another.

My work is made on the potter's wheel and hand built from slabs and coiling techniques, sometimes adding texture from real plant impressions such as fern leaves to the clay. One of the decorating techniques I use is one I honed myself by pressing local plants I forage, scanning and editing the image, and finally making a screen print. I screen print these images of pressed plants directly onto the clay with slip and underglazes. I also decorate my work with various texture, several coats of terra sigillata (an ancient technique that translates to “sealed earth”) that gets buffed to a waxy finish, and use minimal glaze treatments to highlight the beauty of the dark clay.