About

I’m an artist based in Portland, Oregon, originally from Tacoma, Washington.

I have always loved art and multimedia - I have experience with many mediums including film photography, video, painting and illustration. I received my BA from Evergreen in 2018. From 2013 to 2020, I screen printed art, apparel and accessories for local musicians, artists, and businesses in the Olympia area. It was a craft that required a lot of problem solving, attention to detail and collaboration. I felt like I was missing tactility and personal expression and wondered if pottery was something I might enjoy. In 2020 I relocated to Portland to explore ceramics.

I had one private lesson and immediately I was hooked. I started making work at community studios and dedicated any free moment I had to practicing throwing on the wheel. I got a job working for a local ceramics company where I met many talented potters and learned a lot about clay and glaze materials. Eventually I bought my own wheel and started making work at home.

Over the past five years I have focused on growing my foundational skills as a potter. Like many potters, I started out just wanting the clay to be centered. It's fun to look back at first year pots and say "wow that is terrible" while simultaneously reminiscing on the pure joy I felt when I finally saw the finished piece come out of the kiln. Eventually my pots got lighter, not too thick, my glazes more consistent, forms more flattering. I started to recognize the colors I liked, the colors I didn't, what shapes work and which don't.

A personal goal of mine was to reach a point where my ceramics looked and felt thoughtfully made, while also being functional and durable.

I have entered a new chapter of my creative journey where I have a lot of questions. Who am I and why do I do this? What does this piece have to say? How am I holding back, what am I afraid of trying and why? How can I continue to push myself and the limits of what clay can do? How can I incorporate my past creative experiences and different mediums into this practice? What is something I have never seen someone do with clay?

What I have discovered is that clay requires patience and confidence in yourself. You must trust yourself so that you can explore - and exploring often does not feel safe.
But in order to discover something new, you have to push through the discomfort of potentially ruining what you just created. There is more value in the process than the finished piece.

Also we are literally talking about mud. I have to constantly remind myself that it's not that serious.