About

I have been a working artist for over 20 years within a wide range of disciplines including acrylic painting, mixed media art, graphic design, and ceramics.  My current work focuses on the Japanese art of Nerikomi. This practice uses stained/colored porcelain to create multi-colored clays blocks which are sliced through to reveal unique patterns. My work is primarily hand-built, which allows for a more organic connection between each piece and the process of its creation.

While many artists choose to decorate their pottery with underglaze, glaze, or other techniques after the bisque firing, I prefer to color and design my pieces during the greenware stage with the clay itself acting as my decoration. This approach allows me to incorporate depth and dimension into my work before it even reaches the kiln. I prefer to leave the exterior of my forms unglazed, opting instead to sand and polish them for a smoother, more refined finish.

When translucency is important, I turn to porcelain clay, otherwise, I enjoy working with a b-mix or stoneware clay, which tends to have a higher survival rate during the firing process and allows for more intricate designs.

I tend to find inspiration in the most ordinary moments of my day. It may come to me while pausing to squint my eyes down a grocery store aisle, noticing how soap forms on the surface of water when doing the dishes, noticing the patterns on a rug at a friend’s house or absorbing the unfamiliar landscape of a new place I’m visiting. It’s in these small, fleeting moments that I often find the patterns, shapes and colors that find their way into my creations.

I approach my work with a balance of skepticism and hope, understanding that the majority of my pieces may not turn out as I originally envisioned, and many may not survive the process. Nerikomi made with porcelain is a delicate and challenging art that requires numerous factors to align. If just one element—whether it’s the water saturation of a layer, or uneven drying—goes awry, the piece may fail. This fragile process has led me to embrace a Zen approach to my work, where impermanence shapes my perspective.