Artist Statement 2012
I make utilitarian wares using a precise, minimal, and efficient geometric language that nourishes my focused interest in defining perfectly handmade. It is the fascination with this seemingly paradoxical concept that propels me daily to practice my craft in a way that searches for a satisfying balance between how much evidence of handwork I put in, and how much evidence I take out.
My approach to making objects is greatly influenced by my experience in athletics. Repetition, reduction, and precision are methodologies I once used in sports that now enrich my aesthetic sensibility. Working within this athletic model for physical conditioning, the repetitive process of making my work leaves my hands with a muscle memory that cannot be achieved in any other way. The end result of this approach to process is pots that are athletically defined themselves - reduced to only the necessary elements through significant repetition.
I allow the process and the inherent nature of the medium itself to determine the degree of tension between perfect and handmade in my work. The limitations inherent in the physics and chemistry of ceramics simultaneously restrict and expand my practice. My challenge then becomes the exploration of how far I can push the medium within those limits, while also pushing my own boundaries in form, surface, utility and overall design. In keeping a rhythm that is informed by my knowledge of ceramic process, I establish a balancing act that satisfies my desire for tightness and precision with my requirements for development and productivity.
When an individual uses my work, the simultaneous attention of the user on the objects and the objects on the user reveal the unique nature of personal production for personal use. Pots that require the viewers’ attention while at the same time allowing them to enjoy the experience of nourishment enrich the otherwise mundane act of use. This perpetual shifting in focus shows that through function, the object holds power in its passive waiting for an active participant. This precise collaboration with the viewer/user then allows a more conscientious operation, thus presenting questions about what occurs when the perceived traditional definition of handmade is denied, the ambiguity of perfection is introduced, and the role that objects play in our lives.
