Cherry Hill, NJ
I make functional pots. They are wheel thrown and altered. I fire my pots in atmospheric kilns, either wood, salt, or gas/soda kilns. I make pots for every day use, with the hope that they may become favorite coffee mugs, cereal bowls, or sandwich plates. I create pots with an eye towards function, but beauty is equally important. That is why I am drawn primarily to wood firing. I believe the natural environment contains immense beauty, and when fired pots bear melted wood ash, flame marking, and flashing, nature is clearly on display. Wood ash and salt land on my pots during firing and the result is that some pots are smooth while others are sharp or prickly; some show the trail of the flame while others show the drips and spots of melted ash; some are immediately beautiful while others take some time to be appreciated. No two wood fired pots are the same because the surface of each pot reflects the impact of many elements including fire, ash, wood type, temperature, and the kiln itself, just to name a few. Firing this way offers me the opportunity to control parts of the creative process, primarily the forms of the pots and their clay bodies, but also frees me to allow the fire, ash, and salt to leave their particular marks on the pots in their final expression. This in turn lends a serendipitous or "happy chance" element to the process that makes each firing a fresh experience and each pot a new canvas. I also enjoy experimenting with a variety of clay bodies including porcelain and stoneware clays. Each clay invites its own set of different textures, markings, and colors during firing.
