Crimson Laurel Gallery

Functional pottery is my preferred method for bringing art into everyday life. Working within these parameters allows my pots to be handled, creating a rapport between the user and the ware. On one hand, the relationship that develops is straightforward and inherent; on the other, it is beautifully intricate and multifaceted. I am captivated by the dialog between simplicity and complexity, which is a concept I endeavor to reflect in my work.

One aspect of this idea, and central to forms that I make, is the use of clean, graceful lines. For me, a delicately restrained change of direction within a curve can possess the same energetic tension as a jagged, sharp angle. I choose the quiet and subtle line over the flashy and abrupt one for its ability to be comfortable and at ease on the table, in the hand, and on display.

My attraction to line, curve, and edge stems from a fascination with the organic world, which began during my childhood in the Blue Ridge Mountains of Virginia. I am entranced when one tiny part of something can embody the same experience as the entire object, like the smooth, slick bark of a birch that is a metaphor for the tree's slender, gentle growth. Or when one inch of a curve in a pot's profile can capture the same feeling as the whole vessel. A goal of mine is to mimic the cohesiveness inherent in nature; in this sense, much of my work is an abstraction of the qualities I find beautiful in the organic world.

My choice of surface patterns suggests this same abstraction: brushwork squares in varying relationships are my reference to geometric structures that repeat in nature, both to the naked eye and under the microscope. Atmospheric salt firing and the simple use of glazes allow my work to maintain a truth to the material it is made of, either porcelain or stoneware mixes. Again, the balance between simplicity and complexity becomes a focus not only with the forms I make, but also with my surface treatment and firing preferences.