Artist Statement

As an artist, my goal is to visually communicate conflicts and struggles I have dealt with in my life. Making art is an extremely cleansing process; I take the emotions, deal with it by making a piece, and move on. This creating process puts me in concerns with the situations I present. I’m highly influenced by negative feelings such as anger, sadness, vulnerability, and frustrations that everyone experiences in life. I take the struggles and attempt to portray them by distorting the human form or changing the proportions of the human body. I believe this tension and disfiguration tend to draw the viewer in, as it is way more visually interesting, in addition it represents how each specific emotion might make a person feel. A common theme in my work is struggle and overcoming devastating emotions.                  

I tend to be drawn to clay and its malleability. I love the way I can use my hands as tools to create human forms. I am attracted to smooth and curvilinear shapes I make that guide your eye from one shape to another. I love the uncertainty of the clay as it enters the kiln. In a sense it is a comfortable surrender. I trust the kiln and believe it can add to the character of work. The piece may crack or the glaze might not turn out the color I originally planned, however the process is the refreshing part to me.  I believe the uncertainty of clay reflects reality; I never know what the future holds.

As a visual communicator, my goal is to reach out to any and everyone. I want my viewers to be able to relate by the feelings and ideas I portray.  I want to create a sense of discomfort, because if I know if I generate a feeling in someone, they can, in one way or another, connect to my work. My ultimate goal is to reach out to my audience, represent emotion, and be able to create a sense of discomfort in order for them to realize my work may be how they really feel.