About
• Artist Statement •
I am interested in natural patterns and how simple processes can lead to the natural complexity that surrounds us. Branches, roots, waterfalls, and mountains all have patterns and shapes that interest me, and all show signs of the forces that created them. Clay can easily take forms from rigidly structured, geometric forms to organic or totally amorphous forms. Both geometric and organic appear together in my work, with the idea that they are not as different as they seem. Geometry and mathematics are the basis of so much of the natural world around us.
Before finding clay, I worked as a computer software engineer, developing software for scientific instruments. With my mathematical and scientific background, I enjoy the chemistry of glazes and the ability of clay to be worked in a very structured way, but also move naturally at the same time. Growing up, my father was an electrical engineer, and interested me in all sorts of games and mathematical puzzles. Of particular interest, he was very interested in fractals, which are a great example of simplicity breeding beautiful complexity. From simple mathematical equations come images of truly infinite complexity and detail. Fractal patterns also appear frequently in nature and, to me, are another example of how important geometry and mathematics are in the world around us. The rims that I carve and the patterns that appear in the glass remind me of these fractal processes.
I use both very structured ways of working, such as throwing on the wheel or building from slabs with cardboard templates, as well as processes that are a little out of my control, such as hacking away at a rim, or using glazes that move and combine in ways that are a little different every time. More recent work includes trailing glazes and then moving and shaking the piece so that gravity makes the excess glaze form drips and patterns, and melting marbles to create a thick layer of glass. The final result of these techniques depends on so many factors that, while I can plan and try to set things up to turn out a certain way, I never know exactly what will happen. I enjoy the uniqueness of each piece and the unexpected results that come from working this way. I hope my work still has details left to be discovered after being used for a while, and I am always happy when someone looks at a piece in a different way or sees something in a piece that I haven’t noticed before.