BLACK Heart TEAPOT

In this work I was exploring the textural differences between a thrown porcelain surface and a kurinuki style lid, as well as the visual differences between "stone" and "metal." 

My technical challenges during this work were many, including throwing a large globe form that wasn't too heavy, as well as creating and attaching a spout that felt innate to the overall form.

The dripping heart decoration was truly an example of the happy accident, because I hadn't tested the glaze on top of clear, I didn't anticipate the beautiful running movement that happened.

I'm Your Biggest Fan

In this series, I attempted to merge my love of portraiture with my love of intervention on found objects and materials.  I thrift-shopped for a variety of plates with different existing imagery, and then matched them to people in my life to create portraits of them.  I considered each plate and the personality and aesthetics of each subject before paining them.

This piece was my first successful attempt at using China paint, an oil-based medium that was very different from the water-based media I was used to in ceramics.  As I worked each layer, I would fire it to set it, building up layer after layer of pigment.

Like a Prayer

In this series, I drew inspiration from the world of pop art and religious iconography, juxtaposing the many faces of pop-artist Madonna with the Delft technique and Latin inscription, often used to depict European religious iconography.  I chose these both because I found the idea funny, but also because Madonna was my favorite singer growing up, and Delftware is a ready made vehicle to give importance and value to anything created out of it.

Bleeding Heart

In this work, I learned how to use screen-printing blocking fluid and a brush to do direct screen printing, which was very different from the photo process or the stencil making I knew before, because I could be painterly with my lines, creating areas of thick and thin strokes, as well as using dry brush on my hair.

My idea for this work was to express tenderness and vulnerability by create a play on words.  Left-leaning people and artists are often called "Bleeding Hearts" because they feel excess empathy for others.  I also have been accused of "wearing my hear on my sleeve" as someone who insists upon open and honest communication.  The imagery shows both the plant bleeding heart (Dicentra spectabilis) as well as a human heart, still beating, wrapped around my neck.

Ballet Shoes

The drawing was produced as a study for leather and fabric during an intro to drawing class.  Although I have taken beginning drawing many times, I like learning from different teachers to see their approaches.  Some skills I learned during this series were how to pay closer attention to the organic shapes produced by leather and fabric, and how to render a variety of reflective materials.

During this project, I stepped back many times to make sure my proportions were correct before laying down any detail.  After I was happy with my proportions, I continued to analyze my use of value and the shapes of the shadows and reflections, to try to achieve realism.

Santa Cecilia

This is one of a series of female Catholic martyred saints produced during my study abroad in Rome.  While traveling, I collected litter and advertisements pasted to buildings to produce the series, carefully selecting paper, plastic and foil for color and value, using an X-Acto knife and glue to assemble each work.