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I find myself surrendering to objects, images, and processes. This surrender is integral to my work, even before it has taken a form; it has always been there. It condensates, ruminates, and drips down into something tangible.
In my practice, I act as a filter. I find compelling surfaces and moments in my day-to-day life and bring them to the studio. I'm particularly interested in textures of urban decay. Paint peeling to reveal something underneath, tar patterns on concrete, construction gear left on the side of the road. Recently I've been called to work most with ceramics and collage. Experimenting with glaze and surface markings in clay helps me replicate and digest what I have collected. Collage feels similar; found images transmute and are drastically separated from context.
I am often called back to themes of memory, magic, and transformation. I look at a memory from all angles. There's an inherent magic in focusing on something horribly mundane; the smell of your elementary school gym. The shape of a broken tile on the floor that you couldn't take your eyes off. These moments become physical through material, and I step aside, letting some subconscious self do what it needs in order to process.
Magic and clay are also deeply intertwined. There's an innate lineage in the material, tied to generations of humans thinking through their hands, through their bodies. I have been working on a series of hand built coil vessels, each with a specific intention. Sometimes the creation of vessels is synonymous with shadow work; other times I imbue a vessel with light. Blessing an object with protection, or the people I am thinking about. Sometimes memory feels like too much to hold, and an object can bear the weight. As a result, they gain ritual significance, or magical potency. Every vessel is a spell.
I find more questions as I move through each process. What does it feel like to work in this particular way? Once I feel like I have done everything I can, how can I change and experiment so the work feels alive? What comes through if I meditate on a specific idea while working? Problem solving is a constant driving force.
Making is my guidance of energy. This energy feels alive, playful, rich, and unbridled. Ultimately, my practice serves as a search for this feeling - the conjuration of ideas into form.
