Biography
ABOUT ME
I have done a lot of things. I promoted design firms. I helped artisans sell their work. I toiled as a government bureaucrat. (Just to name a few….) Oh. And I had three kids. Through it all, ceramics was my side gig. Then I turned fifty and realized time was finite. Instead of relegating art to the nooks and crannies of my life, I committed to my practice full time. In 2019, I set up my own studio in Old City Philadelphia. It has high ceilings, ancient windows and an awkwardly placed iron column. It is ridiculously drafty in the winter and way too hot in the summer. But it is all mine, and I feel wildly fortunate going to work there every day.
Artist Statement
SOME BACKGROUND ON MY PRACTICE
About ten years ago, I started working exclusively with porcelain. I did not know it at the time, but that obsession sent me down a path where materiality became everything. I gradually dispensed with glazes and colorants. The more I narrowed my practice, the richer it became, with one discovery leading to the next and then the next. Above all, I realized I love incorporating an element of surprise in my work — as much for myself as for the viewer. I enjoy pushing porcelain to its brink: how thin and translucent can I get it? How do I capture movement? How do I make the inside of a vessel as important as the outside? A late bloomer, I have stored up a lifetime of questions. And when I stumble upon a satisfying resolution, it is addictive in the best possible way.
Process
SOME THOUGHTS ON MAKING
After decades working in clay, here’s what I’ve learned. My best efforts emerge from following what I love, while loosening expectations. Skill and technique seldom match what’s in my mind’s eye. Thankfully, serendipity and grace occasionally fill the gaps. Solitude and a light-filled space are preconditions for productivity. So is time to walk, wander and take pictures. Paying more attention to what matters — and devoting less energy to what doesn’t — remain my biggest challenges. I am a work in progress, so is my art.
