My sculpture is also the testimony of my faith. The farmland of central Maryland, and historic Frederick lie at the end of a long evolution ranging from the cold northeastern shoreline through the rolling Appalachian Mountains, the agricultural mid-lands, the majestic Rockies, and the arid Sonoran Desert. Here I create my unique ceramic art which has found its genesis in the internal assimilation of the universal aesthetics of nature. The study of the physical forces inherent in the production of ceramics brings me full circle from the inspiration by nature to the study of natural forces. For only with the understanding and harnessing of these natural forces can the expression of beauty in form and function continue.
Simplification enhances the delicacy yet strength of each work.
The natural beauty of clay itself is enhanced by the asymmetrical irregularities, surface texture, and subtleties of color produced by the organic fuels, the intense heat, and the lick of the flame during the firing process, bringing the clay back to nature for the final shaping of the form in its molten stage and the organic markings which are the gift of the fire. The exhibition features two wood fired porcelain forms that have been my signature for many years. The pinch pots, formed by hand from a lump of clay the size of a small tangerine, are elegant narrow necked forms that seem to communicate. Placed in groups the couples and families carry on conversations and express emotions through the postures created in the subtle angles of the rim and neck and the shape of the shoulder and belly of each pot. The Impressions are cups and chalice forms which present a new experience in the act of containing.