I come from a significantly different path than most ceramic artists. Early in my life I trained and studied as a biologist and even before that I spent hours of my childhood watching animal behavior and interacting with animals both wild and domestic. In truth I have always felt a kinship to the animal world. Exploration of that connection remains the driving force of my work. Primarily I enjoy the ways in which human physicality and emotion seem to be mirrored in the animal world. Sometimes genuinely and other times only in appearance. I also find great beauty in animal and human forms
My family does woodworking so I grew up in the shop and learned to hammer nails about the same time I learned to read. Before I discovered clay I spent a fair bit of time unsuccessfully trying to get bent wood to express some of what I do in clay. My introduction to ceramics was also fairly non-standard. I began with what many call wild-clay that is harvested in a creekbed rather than found in a plastic bag. My first firings were in a pit. I have also explored other artistic media like origami, watercolors, and fiber arts. All of these media have influenced the structure and finishes of my creations.
I have been doing ceramics for about 5 years now and have always wanted to make big pieces. I am currently exploring ways to do that with an electric kiln of limited size by assembling sculptures from multiple pieces. I am using glue and stringing some pieces together with sort of stretchy cord. A bonus of this articulated method is that pieces with projections are protected from breakage.