My “Reconstruction Series” is composed of ceramic objects made from high-fire stoneware clay, and glazes. This series includes intimate three-dimensional forms that are lively, sometimes playful, and sometimes quizzical. I am drawn to the ironic and the absurd. Although static many of my works create an impression of movement or a sense of being off balance. My work is one of dichotomies: stasis versus motion, functional versus non-functional, and craft versus art.

My reconstruction series is a sculptural study of clay’s traditional utilitarian forms. I am fascinated by the inherent dichotomy between art and craft which permeates the ceramic world. Ceramics is replete with potters and sculptors.  Potters craft dinnerware bound for fairs and kitchen cabinets. Sculptors create fine art destined for galleries, museums, and living rooms. I find myself, like most ceramic artists, wanting to perfect the craft associated with wheel thrown utilitarian objects, but I am not satisfied with this accomplishment alone.

Once I create a wheel thrown form, such as a bowl or bottle, I find myself asking, “what if…?” “What if...,” has led me to crate non-functional forms that retain the appearance or character of functional ceramic ware. My bowls, plates and bottles are incapable of holding food or liquid, yet I label them bottle, bowl, or plate which are by definition containers.  Like a cross between “Alice in Wonderland” and Dr. Seuss my place settings invite you to come take a bite, have a drink, but none can be had.

My work explores the distance I can deviate from a common recognizable utilitarian form and still have the viewer perceive the object as that common form.  If by definition bottles, bowls, and plates are containers, what are they, when they cannot contain? Does removing their ability to function transform craft into art?