Artist Statement

For me, working with clay is all about the process. Kneading the clay and shaping it serves as a tactile meditation. It is a time when I am aware only of the moment. Glaze making requires measuring chemicals with precision and technical knowledge. Firing, the final step, is when I relinquish control to intense heat and fate. The results can either be as I had intended, or surprising.

I find the entire cycle intriguing. Clay comes from the earth; it is primarily decomposed rock. In the plastic state it can be shaped, then it is fired making it rock hard again, all the while, recording that impermanent “clay moment.”

I strive to create work that bridges the gap between function and non-function. My intention is to transport the aesthetic out of the gallery or living room and deliver it into the rest of the house.

                                                                            Bio
I first studied ceramics at University of California Santa Barbara, however, I majored in Geography. While living in northern California, I worked as a civil-engineering technician. To celebrate a birthday with a zero, I took flying lessons and ended up falling in love and marrying my flight instructor. In 2003, we moved to north Idaho so we could live on an airstrip, and so I could be an artist. My first art project here was to paint a moose for the “Moose on the Loose” public art project. After almost 30 years, in 2009, clay called to me again and I started studying Ceramics with Larry Clark, at North Idaho College. Larry helped me setup my studio. Today I make functional as well as non-functional pieces, I teach what I have learned on a limited basis, and volunteer in the clay studio at Gizmo-CDA.

My philosophy: clay is magic.