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Human, Nature
Human, Nature
Where is the line between humans and nature? Where is it blurred? Does it exist at all?
Practice is an inherent part of working with a natural substance like clay. When working with clay, the artist does not fully control the results of drying, cracking and glazing. This, coupled with the process of making ceramics, where there is a clearly defined start- raw clay and end - fired piece, allows me to confront my own perfectionism and desire for control. I have to let nature take its course and have to work with the material, rather than force my will upon it. My work wrestles with the human instinct to produce perfection and nature’s lesson that variation and accident ultimately yield a better, more interesting result.
My work focuses on creating new objects that are at once familiar and yet unexpected. In this pursuit, I experiment with different techniques, materials and presentations. Contrasting real plant life with faux flowers, creating pieces that have a physical interaction, and using alternative materials such as horse hair firing, tar paper, slab building, and throwing donuts all force me to respond to the unknown. My response to mistakes, unexpected outcomes and failures embeds meaning into my pieces.
Working and experimenting with clay is an exercise in revision. A large part of my practice is attempting new ideas, failing, assessing the failure and then adjusting my original idea based on the evidence of my attempts. I work with the materials in a collaborative way. Rather than trying to force my original concepts, I strive to listen to the materials and respond accordingly. The continued repetition of attempting something new, failing, problem solving and then adjusting concepts accordingly, parallels my experience of being human and finding my way in this messy, unpredictable and complicated world.
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