Resilience has been necessary for me in order to move beyond and endure many difficult barriers. In making ceramic figurative work I meditate on this challenge of pushing forward through times of struggle. I depict vulnerable moments of emotional indulgence, where figures are caught reflecting on their current predicaments. They often seem to be absorbed in a pained melancholy, carrying the weight of their pasts and struggling with the reality of their present. As I sculpt I often imagine a narrative of the make-believe lives of my clay beings and this influences the sculptural decisions that I make.
Often my figures are gender ambiguous, displaying female parts with male qualities. I am very aware of socially accepted norms and the marginalization of minority groups. I am interested in blurring the lines and creating figures that do not seem to belong to either side of the gender binary.It is interesting to me how ambiguity in real life can be so isolating, while in figurative sculpture, depictions of ambiguous qualities may imbue the work with a familiar appeal. In my work I toy with this alternate manifestation, seeking transcendence beyond gender, and placing emphasis on shared experience.