What does it mean to be in control? Is it I or the material around me that has the power in decision making? Who has control when viewing an object? These are questions that surround me as I create. I wrestle with my primal need for complete control, with clay being a medium that allows me very little of it. I find myself battling for control at the pottery wheel or through the firing of a wood kiln. In these instances, I need to ask myself how control will benefit the outcome. I work to challenge my belief that more control leads to higher quality work. I am learning to understand how moments of uncertainty and unknown outcomes can lead to my own creative satisfaction.

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Through wheel throwing, I am forced to challenge these ideas of control and its connection to the illusion of perfection. I work to embrace moments of spontaneity and curiosity even when my mind is so inherently afraid of them. Through my firing processes, I embrace what I can’t always control. I trust the process, for it can create masterpieces from my work that even I could not envision.

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I construct tightly thrown and slip cast forms. Carving and surface designs inspired by natural textures such as fossilized riverbeds are introduced into the pieces. Concepts surrounding light and how it impacts surface, texture and translucency are also explored in my practice. Through building other organic undulating forms, I work to capture the movement of form through surface and pattern. The firings then alter the organic forms, and I appreciate the unique warping that takes place. I gift an element of control to the wood firing and the other atmospheric processes to add natural movement and variation within my body of work. Clay allows me to begin to find the intersection of when to fight for control and when to embrace the unexpected.