Artist Statement
l love to make all sorts of ceramics, ranging from large abstract sculptures to coffee mugs and and jack-o'-lanterns. It's understandable, therefore, that
people often ask me if I'm a potter or a ceramic artist. I think this is a false distinction that most other artists don't have to suffer. For example, we use the terms "photographer," "painter," and "musician" to refer to practitioners who create both fine art and popular works, rather than using labels that pigeonhole them into distinct categories. Many of my sculptural works are grounded in basic functional or utilitarian forms, such as vases and plates. At the same time, when creating functional pieces like jars or planters, I often try to add new aesthetic elements or to experiment with novel designs. (For this reason, I often shudder when people ask me to create pots that will match ones I made previously. Even when they show me the originals, I usually can’t duplicate the pieces or even remember what I was thinking when I made them!). |
While I think of myself both as a potter and a ceramic artist, I must confess that for me, creating functional pottery is the higher calling. I love creating pieces that people can use and enjoy on an everyday basis. For over ten thousand years, pottery-making has been one of the ways that people imbue everyday life with meaning, beauty and delight. Just ask friends who begin each day by sipping coffee from their favorite handmade mugs, who serve holiday meals on handbuilt tableware handed down from generation to generation, or who brighten their homes and their lives with wheel-thrown vases filled with plants and flowers.
As a college student, I was introduced to the aesthetic prevalent among many Japanese, Korean and Chinese potters who favored more minimalist and functional forms, in contrast to works of ceramic "fine art" that seemed unduly ornate and pretentious in comparison. This approach was popularized by the new breed of studio potters in England and the U.S., who created functional works using simple yet elegant designs, recognizing that the beauty of a pot was intimately tied to its practical utility. |
When creating a pitcher, for example, there may be an infinite number of possible shapes and designs, but for the pitcher to have true functional and aesthetic integrity, its spout must pour without making a mess, and its handle must be sturdy and comfortable to grip, both when the pitcher is held in an upright position and when it tilted down to pour out its contents. The challenges posed by these kinds of physical and practical constraints can bring out a potter’s creativity and inventiveness, rather than inhibit them.
My philosophy of ceramics is beautifully expressed by the potter and author Clary Illian, who wrote: “Pottery can have all the formal components of the fine arts. Its content or symbolic meaning is unlimited, but it is a category of the arts whose subject is utility.” |
In all of my work, I try to bring out the nature of the clay, whether by the fluidity of the throwing process or the subtle, minimalist lines of handbuilding. I'm influenced by the beauty of the natural objects that surround my daily life in such abundance. The earthy colors and textures I find in our local landscapes are a source of inspiration for the colors and textures I strive to create in my pottery.
Throughout my career, I've been trying to create pieces that put a human face on ceramic forms. Kiln-fired clay is hard and lifeless, and yet, for thousands of years, ceramicists have imbued their works with inner lives and human qualities. This ability to breathe life into clay has always fascinated me. I’m especially intrigued by how adding just a few traces of a facial expression can conjure up the presence of sentient beings with their own personalities. Sometimes, the face in the vase can reach out to you, creating a moment of human recognition or even affinity. |