DOTS – Pastel Installation

My work seeks to reconnect to the joy of the child within, to cut through the layers of conditioning and give voice to that pure, candid, playful energy. My abstract ceramic art can be seen as a conversation between pattern and color. It’s the dialog between these two—the tension between order and emotion, between the composition’s rigid structure and the exuberant color of its parts—that gives form to the message. The result is a satisfying compromise: there’s harmony in containment, but it’s the color, the emotion that has the last word. On a material level, what gives my work its distinct feel is the choice of colored clays and semi-translucent glazes. The colored clays contribute an underlying warmth, and the translucence of glazes allows for a coherence of parts. I'm also drawn to the semi-translucent glazes for the depth of color that they offer, something that is often lacking in their opaque counterparts. Among the artists that have inspired my work are Paul Klee for his dreamy playfulness, Joseph Albers for his perfect synthesis of color and form, Mark Rothko for the immersive experience of his colors, and Agnes Martin for her clarity of vision. I hope that my work conveys the joy that I feel making it, and that it uplifts the people and places it comes in contact with it.