Artist's Statement

The objects I make are utilitarian in form and meant for everyday interactions. With reference to urban scenery in the unknown corners of inner cities and the back alleys between buildings, I take what is seen as destructive and disrespectful, transform it by carving, calligraphy, and scraffito then bring it out of the cold, wet corridors into a completely different environment. These images are juxtaposed onto sophisticated forms influenced by those of the Song and Sung Dynasty.

I seek to create a completely unique take on the typical experience for the user in social situations. The objects I make provoke the intimacy of conversation, through the visual interest of urban imagery, and meandering pattern. The utility of these objects creates a dialogue between the user and the vessel in a way that industrially made objects do not. I transform my vessels from everyday objects into more sculptural, intimate, and rare functional vessel with the idea that it will give the user a more memorable and personal experience.

The underlying images and content in my work suggests the idea of community and conversation, but also point to another layer to be contemplated while experiencing these vessels. Using scraffito on pristine high fire porcelain, the objects are stamped with an irreversible mark. This leaves information that cannot be destroyed, only layered over, creating a correspondence between the conservative and urban cultures. This idea is similar to the idea of graffiti, taking a once simply functional wall, and turning it into something with visual interest, displaying the personal mark of the artists. Graffiti functions as a sort of silent communication over time, as one person leaves their mark of experience on top of another.

When I work I consider everything: form, functionality and ergonomics, as well as the surface itself. I transform my vessels from an everyday to more personal objects, leaving my mark in an identifiable way. In making this work I aim to leave each viewer with a completely different outlook on what pottery can be–not only functional useful objects but communication through art as well.