Philosophy
A danger
of our disposable culture is not just the trash we leave behind
but the trash with which we surround ourselves. The sense of freedom
given to us by plastics and mass produced ware is in reality a disconnection
with our everyday experience. Would you surround yourself with people
you don't care about, what would that say about your quality of
life? Think about the things you have in your house that you
value, how many of them are hand
made? A quilt your grandmother made, your mother's cedar chest,
your father's photographs. It sucks to break a cup that you loved,
but the fact that you had a relationship with that cup in the first
place enriched your daily life. It is better to have loved and lost…
Choose beauty!
Several
years ago I heard a study claim that the average person spends 15
seconds per art work in a museum. Clearly if you want your art work
to touch people and be touched the home is the place you want to
be. I love being a potter, I love the amount of time one holds a
coffee cup, touches it to their lips, cradles it in their hands,
what an intimate and sensuous interaction with an object.
I work
to connect myself with my pottery. Not only do I make all the pots,
I design my own clay, I built my own kiln, I determine the length
and qualities of each firing. I respond to the results of each firing,
altering forms, loading techniques, recipes to capture and enhance
the qualities that speak to me. When you come to my gallery feel
the pots in your hands, feel the marks of my hands, trace the flame
path, follow the form with your fingers, as well as your eyes. Because
these pots are made to be used, they hold more than just visual
information.
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