b. 1965
Born: United States
Active Ceramist: from childhood….professionally 28 years
Mentors: John Gill, Kim Dickey
Why Clay?
My first encounter with clay was by chance but the attraction was immediate and unequivocal. In my first lesson at age 25, I sat down at the wheel and a wave of memories flooded me. I remembered that at the age of 9 I was registered in a ceramics extra-curricular activity class, and on the evenings before the weekly lesson, I would lie in bed and plan what I would make the next day. On the wheel,
my hands as if they knew the clay, the work just flowed; there was nothing I rather would have done. The more I learned, the more possibilities opened up and I saw how much more needed to be learned. I love the lesson of humility which clay teaches us, every ceramist who works over time knows that he might still encounter stumbling blocks and technical problems, and may happily also discover new possibilities which open up again and again.
What do I want to convey?
I try to tell about the soft clay, the plasticity and the sensuality of the working process, and I try as well, to preserve these characteristics in the finished work, even though it is hard as stone.
I make vessels for daily use, for rituals and for our habits. There is a cup loved for drinking in it coffee, one loved for tea, and one for drinking hot chocolate on a winter day; vessels from which we enjoy eating, hosting with and serving on; objects which will be displayed on a shelf in the living room, on the coffee table, on the isle in the kitchen, in a niche, on the window sill, objects which will accompany us for years, on which the eye will rest, which will be part of our domestic, familiar, protective and pleasant environment.
What characterizes my work process?
Warning – I am a geek of ceramics! I get excited every time a new from, a new shape found while working, from a new glaze which surprised me, from new combinations, from mistakes. In every new shape I create, I discover a new direction or possibility which can be pursued. If the shape/ vessel/ object are the answer, they are also the new questions.
My tools of choice…Can’t create without them:
I confessed before that I am a geek of ceramics and tools are something fascinating. Once, the little wooden roller and other wooden tools would be my most important ones, but since discovering Michael Sherrill’s tools, I added a beautiful knife with a wooden handle, scrapers and metal kidneys which I can’t do without.
Absolutely necessary in my working environment?
A table, a rolling pin, a knife, my utensils, my templates, my molds and my slab roller; Music and podcasts, to be surrounded by beautiful things and a beautiful view from my window… and the confidence that I can make myself a good cup of coffee.
