Artist statement

Wood is an amazingly beautiful material in all its forms; at once able to exhibit both its flexibility and rigidity. Working with wood is a process of exploring a piece’s particular properties, following its grain, its density, all in service to creating even more beauty.

Being a wood turner, I combine skills using my whole body to create bowls and vessels that evoke beauty through purpose. I design my pieces to draw out the most interesting aspects of each type of wood. Wood requires us to also be flexible – as I turn a piece, I will often shift my perspective, welcoming a series of changes and twists and turns suggested as I get deeper into a piece of wood. 

I am drawn to the artistry of wood, most eloquently captured by the revolutionary artist, Ai Weiwei: “If we push the boundaries of craftsmanship and artisanship, we see that they are not just mechanical skills but are actually an exploration of the very nature of the materials they employ, a challenging, a questioning of wood [or stone] materials. This changes our perspective.”