Crimson Laurel Gallery

My parents immigrated to the United States from Northern Ireland when I was three years old. My sister and I traveled frequently to Northern Ireland to spend summers with our grandmother, where we would visit the local china shops to look at tableware and figurines. I have since associated fine china and porcelain with treasured heirlooms, passed down from generation to generation.

Fine bone china and porcelain are frequently associated with treasured heirlooms that are passed down between generations. My association with porcelain stems from early childhood summer trips to visit my grandmother in Northern Ireland, where she would take me to local china shops to buy small porcelain souvenirs. As I pursued my ceramic education, and started working with porcelain, these memories came to the forefront to influence both my techniques and directions.

My current inspiration comes from creating ceramic vessels that combine elements of both manufactured porcelain objects (which effectively remove the individual artist from the process) and Japanese Shigaraki stoneware (which preserves the artist’s touch). The resulting works illustrate the contrasts in aesthetics, forms, traditions, and function found between shigaraki ware and European fine porcelain. … Shigaraki ware is typically handmade stoneware with feldspar inclusions fired in an anagama kiln, the only decoration coming from the randomness of wood firing. In contrast, fine porcelain is highly processed and purified, mass-produced, and fired in a controlled manner. Feldspar inclusions are added to porcelain and the resulting surfaces are achieved through a combination of an unpredictable atmospheric gas firing and reliable electric firing. Through the application of underglazes, overglazes and decals, the textures are further enriched.

I enjoy working with porcelain; its silky, smooth texture glides through my fingers. After high firing, the durable, white, translucent body has brilliance and ring unique to porcelain. The conflict is further explored by incorporating …

I have begun to incorporate open stock decals and metallic lusters, which have been overlooked as feminine hobby materials by modern studio potters. I am interested in the conflict created by kitsch images on handmade objects. I also want to challenge the aesthetics and values represented when using such materials.