Entwined

I create objects to incite wonder through their exuberance, inviting one to explore the beauty found in the strange and offering the viewer a way to interact with the discomfort of the unknown. My sculptures are an assembly of engaging surfaces and forms revealing varying textures and vibrant colors referencing natural and fabricated worlds. Each sculpture is entangled within its own environment or narrative and each is adorned for its own role, finding a balance between discord and harmony, captivation and repulsion.

Integrating the traditional craft materials of clay and fiber begins to recontextualize their implications. My use of traditional needle felting, handweaving, appliques, and sprigging originates from my desire to celebrate these techniques. My sculptures are evidence of the vast possibilities of these materials, which have always held a considerable value to me. In contrast, I am influenced by the unconventional forms and irreverence of the California Clay Movement. Additionally, I am captivated by the peculiarity of imagery in paintings such as Hieronymus Bosch’s Garden of Earthly Delights. This peculiarity pulls one in and has become an element I strive to communicate within my own work.  I use the dualities of these influences simultaneously to build upon traditional elements and to break conventional thought.

The hardness of fired porcelain is placed in contrast with the inclusion of actual felted or woven wool that is integrated in and around the ceramic forms. The soft materiality of fibers is mimicked by clay through the use of ceramic ruffles, ropes, and appliqués. Each is created as a reflection of the other; fired clay imitating the soft malleability of fiber, felted wool imitating the texture and shapes found in the ceramic forms. By creating relationships between various elements, I explore my fascination of material qualities and processes. The resulting works are compositions of material, color and form which become entwined in process, thought, tactility and emotion.