My pottery is functional in nature, mainly for food service and flower presentation.  I’ve been influenced by Japanese folk pottery which goes by the name “Mingei” in Japan.  This style of pottery tends to be a bit plain but yet has a subtle beauty which compliments food and flower arrangements.  I try to make pottery that feels good in one’s hand, as well as being aesthetically pleasing.

I throw a portion of my work on the potter’s wheel while I hand-build the rest using plaster hump molds.  My decorations are fairly simple and include either forms found in nature or geometric shapes.  I make pottery that will hold up in usage, avoiding delicate rims and features.  My glaze palette includes rich earth tones and the traditional Japanese glazes Shino, Tenmoku, and Oribe.  I high-fire my pots in a gas reduction kiln.

I work in porcelain and stoneware clays. I am drawn to porcelain clay by its sensitivity to texture and its bright background for glaze vibrancy.  I employ the simple decoration techniques of color inlay and sprigging, a method of molding and applying small, low-relief decorative accents.  I enjoy combining the process of wheel-throwing with altering techniques, such as faceting, to produce forms that are sensuous.  Often, it is the process itself that informs my work the most, although I also find inspiration in Japanese surface decoration, and in the molded or stamped forms of historical English and Islamic ceramics.  My porcelain work is fired to cone 6 in an electric kiln.

My stoneware pots further reflect my affinity for pattern and decoration.  I apply cut paper and slip to the surface of these thrown and hand-built pots in a reverse stencil technique.  I am interested in the intersection of decoration and form, and I explore how two-dimensional paper designs can be used to accentuate the forms of three-dimensional pots.  This body of work is fired to cone 11 in the gas-fired reduction kiln.