Artist Statement
Handmade pottery celebrates the simple and mundane activities of daily life. The forms are known and familiar, they are reinventions of objects that have been made to serve basic human necessities for thousands of years. Dishes make their way into our personal living spaces and become witnesses to the conversations, routines and experiences that occur there. Our most mundane daily routines, such as eating, drinking, washing the dishes, have the capability to reveal the sensual potential of physical existence. Rather than a focus on speed, efficiency and homogenization, hand making as a method of manufacture in modern industrialized society is a social and political action valuing sustainability and embodiment.
With a desire to engage with the uncertainties, sensuality and intimacies of being human, I leave marks of making visible. Obvious attachments, drips from slip and glaze application could be perceived as imperfections but I consider them the record of spontaneity.
Working with clay is inherently physical. Through all the processes-making, firing, and finally using- our sensual, physical existence cannot be denied. There is a consideration of the body and the senses within each piece. As a culture we are physically and materially overfed but undernourished. To nourish our bodies, senses and minds is to acknowledge our humanness. Our need for sustenance and care is a common experience which can bridge the distance between individuals providing a space for compassion and understanding. We can all relate to hunger, thirst and the desire for intimacy. Pottery acts as a reminder of our basic needs, revealing our vulnerability.
Biography
Living in numerous towns and cities across Canada while I was growing up placed an emphasis on the importance of familiar domestic objects. The ability of domestic ware to be an integral and intimate part of daily life continues to have a strong influence on my studio practice. After an introduction to ceramics at a communal clay studio in Edmonton, Alberta I completed a diploma in Art, Craft and Design majoring in ceramics at Kootenay School of the Arts. I continued my education at Alberta College of Art and Design where I received my Bachelor of Fine Arts with distinction. I recently completed a 10 month residency at Red Star Studios in Kansas City, Missouri and now have a studio set up in the histiric brewery building nestled in the mountain town of Nelson, British columbia.
