Statement

I have spent nearly three years of my life outside of the United States, the majority of which in Asia. This exploration has been educational, in many ways requiring me to ask larger more difficult questions about humanity. Through living with a diverse group of people who often formed their own realities based on their beliefs, I found that in order to fully understand them, I put on a mask to enter and attempt to understand their situations. As a practicing Buddhist who believes that there is no "self," this has been a process of leaving some identity behind and adding new elements in each case. The idea of life as theatre becomes stronger each day as I struggle with concept of self, yet find deep meaning in interactions with others.

During my travels, having witnessed a significant amount of suffering and death– not only in developing nations such as India, but hunger on the streets of Portland– has led me to believe that something very complicated is happening. Something that surpasses greed: in the surge of abundance we have lost the practice of worshiping sustenance three times a day to continue healthy life. What has emerged instead is a throw away culture, “food pornography” versus intimacy, the loss of cooking skills, and a GMO monoculture death wish. The ultimate tragedy is the loss in sharing food, meals, and the celebration of what it means to nourish and be nourished in ways beyond food.

Within my work I look to transform the practice of eating from a caloric intake to a ritual. I relate most to objects of utility– which fill, hold, and empty­– most as I pass through various experiences in life. I wish for my ceramics to be what they are, both tools for the celebration of food, each other, and what we have now­– but also to be pieces of art formed by the careful practice of touch to make surface, color, and form meet my criteria of aesthetics, which are constructed by my experiences. Thus, I am creating an abstract self-portrait intended for others to physically interact with.