18"  x  18 1/2"  x  8" Height

Woodfired Local Minnesota Clay

Made in Minnesota, USA

Large Woodfired Pieces:
The large woodfired works featured in the exhibition (bowls, sculptural vessels, and sculptural clouds) are all variations on a familiar theme in my work. Each of these pieces is made using a continuous, “upside-down” coil-building method. For the bowls and open sculptural vessels, this means I start coiling from the rim of the vessel, then work my way up until I can eventually close the form with either a round foot (bowl) or a lobed foot (vessel). I build the pieces upside-down in an effort to work against gravity— it allows me to build larger pieces much faster. The enclosed “sculptural clouds” are made in the same way. Essentially, I make an open vessel first, then flip it right-side up and continue coiling to completely enclose the form. 

I first used this method of making when living in California as an artist-in-residence at the Cobb Mountain Art & Ecology Project. I started making round-bottom bowls because I wanted to create large, relatively simple forms that would act as a blank canvas for the interesting surfaces from the wood-fired kiln. Eventually, I started cutting up these bowls and combining them to make more sculptural, lobed vessels inspired by empty seed pods, cocoons, and fruits. These pieces are the foundation of my studio practice today, and many of my forms continue to reference these organic, near-botanical shapes. After spending so many years making the open vessels, I wanted to make versions of the pieces that felt “whole”. Thus, the new collection of large enclosed sculptures. These are loosely inspired by the forms of heirloom tomatoes or pumpkins, and the scale once again makes for a nice canvas for dramatic wood-fired finishes.