The forms I build are organic and abstract. I get many of my ideas from objects I have collected in the tide line of the Pacific Ocean. The natural world inspires and stimulates me. An object’s shape, color or texture may attract me. I often find myself investigating to find out what the things I have actually are. Using objects found on my outings increases the relevance and power of my work for me. I create work that can mimic nature, and is really more evocative than representational. Exploring the tidal zone excites me, and so does interpreting some of these ideas in clay.
My work moves back and forth from pottery and sculpture. Sometimes I use the wheel, at others I do hand building. Occasionally I combine both methods. Recently I have been using a device called a clay extruder. With this tool I form tubing of various diameters and lengths. Clay is put into the extruder and squeezed out, forming the ceramic tubes out of which my works are made.
In the past, the tube-like forms I created were fused together. Now I allow them to remain separate, like pieces of a jigsaw puzzle. I assemble the tubes separately. Each piece is built on site. The works can then be disassembled and assembled differently the next time. Each piece may not be built exactly the same again. I like the possibilities it creates, the sense of adventure whenever the piece is shown. This allows me options I might not have after work is finished.
I believe that all people are a little different; we are not carbon copies of each other. The permutations of my pieces capture this fact. This is important to me because of the flexibility it gives me to make choices. The originality of the work is built into the process. As human beings we are individuals. In the tidal zone things are brought together randomly. By the time objects arrive in the sand they may look very different from when they did when they were at their point of origin. This is what can make them sometimes unrecognizable. The ocean has the power to shape objects like life has the capacity to shape people.
My work moves back and forth from pottery and sculpture. Sometimes I use the wheel, at others I do hand building. Occasionally I combine both methods. Recently I have been using a device called a clay extruder. With this tool I form tubing of various diameters and lengths. Clay is put into the extruder and squeezed out, forming the ceramic tubes out of which my works are made.
In the past, the tube-like forms I created were fused together. Now I allow them to remain separate, like pieces of a jigsaw puzzle. I assemble the tubes separately. Each piece is built on site. The works can then be disassembled and assembled differently the next time. Each piece may not be built exactly the same again. I like the possibilities it creates, the sense of adventure whenever the piece is shown. This allows me options I might not have after work is finished.
I believe that all people are a little different; we are not carbon copies of each other. The permutations of my pieces capture this fact. This is important to me because of the flexibility it gives me to make choices. The originality of the work is built into the process. As human beings we are individuals. In the tidal zone things are brought together randomly. By the time objects arrive in the sand they may look very different from when they did when they were at their point of origin. This is what can make them sometimes unrecognizable. The ocean has the power to shape objects like life has the capacity to shape people.
