My Story
Living on beautiful Vancouver Island, I am mesmerized by the landscape of the PNW. In a world completely overrun with technology, I strive to bring a small piece of the natural beauty that we seem oblivious to into the hands that wish to embrace the forests and waters we live by.
Teapots 2011: The start of the earth series and the beginning of my journey.
I am primarily a self-taught potter that has been mentored by a number of seasoned potters, which in my estimation have helped me foster an innate passion for working with clay. Not satisfied with lovely and enticing (but mostly generic) ceramic production, I found myself being enticed by my imagination and creative critic that said to let go of the mug and finding that perfect glaze or glaze combination. Instead, I found my appreciation for people’s work in how they veered away from production work to create something uniquely different giving me courage to forge my own path.
The results of that wandering and learning has brought me to two lines of pottery: Earth and Wind.
The Earth series represents the Pacific Northwest rainforest with towering trees bathed in Grandfather’s Beard moss and nested amongst the fiddleheads and ferns. This calming but majestic landscape is captured in a thick mossy glaze that hangs/drips over a coffee clay similar to the heaviness of cedar and fir boughs. Whether it’s a mug handle or an embracing rim of a bowl, nestled into the vessel are the branches and twigs that litter the forest floors. Fired three times in order to get that perfect satin glaze finish, these pieces are glorious to hold and/or grace a table or shelf.
The Wind series represents the mischievousness and intelligence of one of the most loveable birds of the PNW. Flying on the winds above our Pacific shores cackles the raven whose watchful eyes laugh at our ambivalence to what we are surrounded by. The process of using sgraffito to carve away black underglaze to reveal the bony white surface of the clay beneath allows me the creativity and freedom I adore. I never know what will be the final result until the clay surface shows to me through possible shadows or small changes in the underglaze intensity. Once the raven is revealed, the landscape shows itself and all I can do at that point is bring it to the surface. I’ve never carved my idea into the clay; the clay always shows me what it wants to reveal.
Whether it’s the Earth or the Wind series, no two pieces are the same. Perhaps the shape of a tray or mug might be, but the added branches or the PNW scene revealed are always unique and guaranteed to be one of a kind. But isn’t nature like that as well? No two snowflakes are the same. Why should there be exact duplicates in the art we bring into our home.
Due to the intricacies of each vessel, it’s not often these are released. If you love my work, give me a follow on Instagram or subscribe in the newsletter for updates.
I’m always exploring and finding new ways to wander both creatively and physically. As such, keep in touch as I continue to discover a unique way to bring Water and Fire into this mix. For now, thanks for reading this far.