Clay is a sturdy yet malleable foundation in which I explore geometric forms. Within these forms, I exhibit the concept of folding and unfolding, of order and chaos in regards to the process of transformation and growth. Inspired by the Post-Structuralist philosopher Gilles Deleuze and his theory of ontology, I create forms that undulate, crease, fold, and unfold to suggest that the nature of being is experiential, active, and dynamic. My ceramic forms bend forward or backward to give a sense of events that are evolving, shifting and reflecting how we as humans crinkle, crease, unfurl, and uncover as we grow through life.
The foundations of these forms are built from the scraps of my plant-like sculptures, which also reflect ideas of growth and florescence. These scraps, patterned and colored from a Japanese technique called nerikomi, are re-wedged and assembled into chaotic marbled patterns. This is an intervention of chance as I do not fully know the visual outcomes until the sculptures have been glaze fired. The surface design becomes jumbled remnants- evocative of the unexpected and disordered experiences of being. This clay assemblage also represents uncertainty which is a catalyst for progress and transformation.
Ultimately, every new construction leads me to think about how shapes can fit together or oppose one another and how to create a new form from similar shapes that looks entirely independent. The work is not a literal demonstration of a process but a figurative representation of change and evolution, which is central to my art making process and pivotal to the human experience.