Inspirations: I love working with wet clay. Scratching thru a layer of slip painted on a slab, the sgraffito technique, gives my work its vitality.
The strength of the line drawings in clay and the spontaneity of gesture are my unique signature.
I come from the Leach/Hamada/Warren McKenzie tradition, and continued to be inspired by the deliberate act of making well designed forms on a daily basis.
My motif inspirations include the timeless beauty of the human figure, fields, folks about, and domesticity.
As Manet said, "I am a realist. I paint what I see."
Inspiring also are the materials themselves, a grounded knowledge of what has gone before me, and the limitless future.
Materials:
I work in low-fire red earthenware clay, and sometimes paper clay, with slips, underglaze pens, pencils, chalks, stains, and transparent glazes.
Background:
My B.S. degree is in "Re-creation, Art, and Society'" from Southern Illinois University in Carbondale, Illinois.
I have also studied clay at the Jacob Cramer Centre for the Arts in Leeds, Yorkshire, England. Our education in the local pub after class was equally valuable to that of our studio work.
After graduating from college, one of my goals was to continue to paint and draw. With help, practice, and perseverance, I began to combine clay with drawing in my everyday life.
