Artist Statement


Four years ago, after 25 satisfying years as a functional potter, I found myself moved to a radically different approach in clay, focused on new images, colors and texture. This change in my work had several sources. I have always loved photography. I’ve been drawn to images that pull you in and make you wonder, "What’s around that corner?" In 2000, I had an opportunity to take photographs in Southern France and Corsica. One set of images of ancient archways had intense appeal to me. I printed endless photographs, blew them up, drew them, made intaglio prints and did water colors of those archways. I was compelled to work with them. It became essential to find a way to blend my photography with my clay. Determined to find a way to wed my two passions, I worked with layers of clay and realized that I could show distance and perspective by carving. I gas fire my thrown functional ware to cone 6 reduction, so it made sense to do the same with this new work. Venturing into a new world of stoneware clays, Mason Stains and oxides, I began rigorous testing, needing to both match colors and capture the photographs’ sense of space and distance.

I have been pushing these first images to deeper dimensions. Pillars have expanded in diameter as I have worked progressive versions. The "Table for Four" started out a fairly straightforward representation, but has evolved into a series. I experimented, distorting the table, stairs, windows and doors. At first, I saw each set as a limited edition, much like a print. However, since the clay images transform dramatically each time, I now call them "non-identical, related images." A second series involves a close-up architectural look at plants. These pieces are smaller and more intimate.

I’m a product of two histories, personal and professional. Together they have brought me to this new creative place. Threads from different experiences have pulled together without me knowing or paying attention. What a surprise, to look back on distant and diverse parts of my life and actually see a pattern. Everything makes sense right now. There is a peace and a rhythm to it. I am grateful and awed, that at age 55, life has me passionately engaged in this new exploration, and joyfully anticipating the future.



The Process


I conceptualize these images in planes of distance. For example, the sky is the furthest plane, followed by the mountains, then the foreground and a wall with windows and arches. Using a small image projector, I enlarge a 4x6 snapshot to 14”x24” and trace it onto plastic. I cut sheets of plastic for each receding plane. Some images may have as many as 8 layers, others only 3. The stoneware clay slabs follow these patterns.

The first slab is 3/8 inch thick for strength. Subsequent layers are 1/8-1/4". I lay the template on top of a slab and cut out the most distant areas, flipping and scoring the slab as I lay it on the one before. A thin layer of stoneware clay slip prevents separation during firing. All layers are in place before I begin carving.

The trick to creating a believable relief is in the subtle angles of the edges. To convey distance and depth, there must be an angled or undercut edge to convince the viewer that one element is in front of another and that there is space and distance between two planes. Because I am working in depths of less than an inch, each change in angle or edge must be definite to be effective. The use of color and shadow adds to this illusion, in the same way as in a painting. On shelves above my table sit more than 40 squeeze bottles of stain and oxide colors. Each has a test tile for color reference. I use a testing palette of 100 Mason Stains and combinations of earth oxides. Each stain or oxide combination is added to a white slip base and applied with brush or sponge. The pieces are slowly single fired to cone 6 reduction in a gas Minnesota Flattop car kiln.