 Life
in Clay
A life centered on one medium may seem an odd life. It conjures up
images of a ferryman shuttling back and forth between the same two
spots on a river. But the connection I have with clay is anything
but static. My work has become a reflective process, malleable under
the events of a life, then fired and hardened into a record, a
document archived in pattern, texture, form, and tableau. These
pieces are not necessarily intended to capture an event per se, but
more to post a marker at a certain moment, a certain thought, a
certain ineffable sentiment as traced along an un-plotted path.
Craft & Art
The work is very much rooted in the traditional craft and
conventions of clay, though conscious deviations from traditional
forms and techniques are a defining element of a number of pieces.
Each piece is built up from a form-follows-function approach, as at
the core of the clay craft lies the form of the vessel. The essence
of these pieces lies somewhere between their roles as works of art
and works of craftsmanship. The dual nature of the pieces, as craft
and as art, is the matrix out of which most of the work arises. Ever
since I discovered the tactility of clay, it has been my undertaking
to drive it forward into new forms and new manifestations. All the
inchoate ideas for new pieces come from pushing and pulling this
substance, subjecting it to the whim of artistic will. These forms
and textures are born of an unscripted and free-flowing discourse
with the medium, from the actual process of working in clay.
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