By researching local clays, mineral resources, and the geological expressions found
throughout the state of Minnesota, I aim to create work which combines the physiological
substance, history, and behavioral characteristics of the landscape to form an expression of its
terroir.

The diversity of the state’s resources inspires me to simultaneously embrace and
challenge conventional approaches to working with clay. As such, my studio practice examines
the overlapping languages of the vessel, sculpture, unfired installation, and two-dimensional
media in hopes of exploring materiality along a wide spectrum of art-forms. Each body of work
offers a unique way of understanding place, process, material, and form. Collectively, I view
each series as a specific resolution to the tensions between artistic intent, ceramic traditions, and
the intrinsic properties of resources in their natural state.

The stages of material collection, research, clay preparation, and waste reclamation often
act as starting points in my work. During each step of interacting with resources I observe their
properties and respond to their challenges through a particular lens: often taking formal
inspiration from the gesture of rock formations, using the firing process to document interactions
between material, and developing alternative ways of working that reuse waste materials. By
integrating this rhythm into my creative process, each finished object and idea contributes to an
evolving ecosystem within my practice.