Artist Statement

Clay gets me high. It  has been a lifetime pursuit. The attraction is both visceral and intellectual, and includes the sheer fun and sensuality of handling wet clay, the heat and magic of the kiln fire, and the opportunity to combine functionality with creative expression.

I enjoy making things that people will use, hold and touch; and pieces that people will want to share with others.

I build some pieces by hand and others on the potter’s wheel.  I work mostly with the classic Chinese and Japanese glazes and use traditional techniques for handling the materials.

While my style is recognizable, each piece is unique, emerging from the fluid nature of the material and defined by my own notion of form, shape, color, line, mood, and gesture. 

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On a more esoteric note, in much of my work I try to make a simplified visual statement that is distilled from more complex abstractions. Some of the things that fascinate me are the notions of yin and yang, the juxtaposition of dissimilar competing elements, the dynamic equilibrium between forces that are in simultaneous opposition and attraction, and the precise moment in time when inertia is broken and motion begins or ends. I also try to suggest a hint of the normal conflict and chaos that afflicts the human experience in contrast to the desire that most of us have for nurture and serenity. 

While I try to create with careful thought and intentionality I am often conflicted with a spontaneity and openness to what will emerge, not only from my own willfulness, but also from the spirit of the clay, the  plasticity of the process, and the fire of the kiln.  For each successful piece, there is usually a moment of truth.

                                           Biography

I have been in my current ceramic studio in Laguna Beach, California since 2011.  For the five years prior to that, I was working at Santa Fe Clay and the Baca Street Pottery in Santa Fe, New Mexico.  In total, I have over forty years experience with clay beginning in the 1960’s when I first studied art at California State University at Fullerton.  During that time, I supported myself as a studio potter working from my home in nearby downtown Fullerton.

Throughout my subsequent thirty-five year career in finance and management, ceramics continued to be an important part of my life. I worked in both private and shared studios as the opportunities presented themselves. Since my retirement in 2003, I have devoted almost all of my time and creative energy to clay.  

My work has been exhibited in galleries, studios, and juried shows in Los Angles, California;  Washington D.C;  Santa Fe, New Mexico;  and Laguna Beach, California.