Artist Statement
As an artist...
I consider my art an act of creation and when I evaluate my work I’m really questioning several things: Firstly, does the art add to what I know is possible? What technique or skill helped it become reality. Secondly, what content is being contributed, what subject is being addressed, and is it worth discussion and research? And lastly, this being the most difficult and important to address, does it tell a good story?
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There’s nothing like a good story. Something that grabs your imagination and presents a thought in a way you may not have considered before. My work revolves around the need to capture visual evidence of a tale told. I’m after the hint of a greater narrative behind the piece. I want my audience to experience that childish sense of exploration. I hope to spark their appetite for more information, to react to the newness and to expand upon what they already know. I want them to want more and become curious about the tale unfolding before their eyes.
Most of my pieces start as an experiment after I’ve learned a new technique, tried a new medium, or explored a new subject. I mostly use traditional methods, especially with ceramics, to make the foundation for my work, and then finish my works with more contemporary methods. For example, wheel throwing is where I shape the base for most of my work, whether it’s a plate to paint on or sculptural components to build with. I start with wheel thrown pieces, then I cut apart those pieces to make components for additive sculptures and finish with 20th century glaze formulas. The experience of making works of art from a potter’s wheel invented around 4,000 BCE, adding millennia spanning techniques and hands-on problem solving, is extremely fulfilling. I add on a layer of lore, usually some hint at a larger story behind the scenes, often creating an entire world around a single subject. As my medium changes or I develop new skills, the content of my work always comes back to some narrative. For some time, my ceramic pieces have followed a specific narrative, a small world that develops as I do.
I draw my inspiration from fantasy novels, mythology, ancient to gothic architecture, traditional craft, animation, gaming, national parks, and historical landmarks. Other specific influencers include modern ceramic artists like Gerit Grimm, Beth Cavener, Tim See, Calvin Ma, and Charles Simonds; and graphic designers like Alphonse Mucha and Hokusai, and renaissance artists like Caravaggio and Brunelleschi.
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I feel there is a growing appreciation and valuing of the handmade object. I’d like my work to occupy the niche of today’s art seekers who aren’t necessarily traveling to museums and galleries. Art should be experienced in more accessible places; the home, the library, the country fair, the café. I find that fine art has this air of exclusivity and luxury, but culture and aesthetics is and has been experienced by everyone and should be accessible to all.
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My grand wish as an artist is to build the audience of art appreciators, through more accessibility and relatability, to the story being told.
Gallery
Visual Collection
