ARTIST STATEMENT

in my work I aim to capture "Rass". Rass is a Hindi word that means sap of a plant/tree. In my work I strive to get at the essence or spirit of a subject.

My approach to this body of work starts with a gestural sketch: a representation of perhaps, a yoga pose, or a fleeting memory. My initial sketches are turned into stylistic clay shapes, all the while working with soft impressionable clay that captures deliberate and sometimes accidental impressions of my working process and retains the scarring like memory.

As I arrange the clay shapes into abstract compositions, working to support each clay shape with the next, building a strong intertwined, interdependent scaffolding like structure, working mindfully in a meditative way, embracing changes as they manifest themselves.

I look to create energy and movement, with a balance of negative and positive space. I work to control the light that filters through the sculpture and reflects off the surface to create soft formed shadows and hard cast shadow shapes.

I use underglaze as an underpainting that shows through the top layers of glaze to create a rich layered and textured surface.