Process

Clay’s harrowing journey from sticky mud to fortified pottery is one I chronicle in the design choices I make as a ceramic artist. At each stage of the process, I incorporate techniques that illuminate the fleeting phases clay visits on its path to its final form.

At clay’s most pliable stage, I mold it into the desired shape, leaving proof of its malleability with the gentle imprint of a textured stamp. When the clay is firm enough to hold shape, I carve a topography of imagery onto its walls. Removing clay with metal tools, I create motifs inspired by the California landscape, folk art, and my imagination. I fire in gas reduction, where the smoke trapped in the kiln during the firing interacts with the pot’s surface, producing a marbled finish.

I embrace ceramic’s process-driven nature and celebrate the dynamism of the material. I reveal clay’s transformation with marks unique to each stage it inhabits on its way to becoming pottery. These marks map clay’s metamorphosis and are evidence of dialogue between the hand and vessel. Together, they highlight the many terrains clay traverses and tell the tale of the handmade process.