Artist Statement
…the role of artworks is no longer to form imaginary and utopian realities, but to actually be ways of living and models of action within the existing real, whatever the scale chosen by the artist.
Nicholas Bourriaud, Relational Aesthetics (France: Les presses du réel, 1998, in English, 2002), 13
Throughout its history, ceramic art has always traversed the worlds of art and life, reality and metaphysical thought, routine and ritual. Though not a common part of its critical theory, an emphasis on encounter, collaboration, event, and installation have all been unconsciously and consciously a part of the ceramic artist's aesthetic framework. Because of their association with ceremony, ritual, and dining events, ceramic objects have found themselves defining, encouraging or acting as surrogates for human and spiritual relationships and interactions. The possibility that ceramic objects can be an integral part of Bourriaud's “ways of living and models of action within the existing real,” is no real stretch of the imagination, and is part of the framework within which I approach making my work.
The work that I make exists in the real, whether that is in a china cabinet, on a sidewalk in St. Paul, or under a heaping mound of fresh vegetables at a community cookout, and I believe that it is in these quotidian gestures facilitated by ceramic objects that social change can be made, culture can be created and preserved, and relationships are formed. As an artist and an active community member, one of my goals is to simultaneously empower my community to participate in and take ownership of art and artful living, and at the same time to find relevancy for my own work from within my diverse and local community. Because ceramics has such a long and rich history of existing within the context of daily life—through food, ritual, burial, etc.—I believe it is truly a beautiful art medium for achieving this goal. This history provides me with continual inspiration and a perpetual challenge: to contextualize my art practice in a way that brings meaning to the material culture that exists today.
My pieces are meant to be tactile intercessors between people—a means to help facilitate empathetic connections—relationships, conversation, community, family, friends, and culture. The human interaction that ceramic objects facilitate is my fundamental interest, both as a way to find common ground among strangers and as a means for intimate exchange among friends. Story-telling has powerful resonance in many cultures and is used to teach morality and history and provide mechanisms to understand joy, grief, humor, tragedy, etc. I have found that stories are a good vehicle to building connections within diverse cultures and communities. I am interested in the layers of stories ceramic objects accumulate with time, and in the stories that are produced through their use. I believe that through the daily rituals of gathering, eating, and telling the stories of our lives, that deep meaning can be experienced and shared.