About Me

Don’t worry! I almost know what I am doing.

In the Summer of 2021, I picked up pottery to rejoin society after the definitive conclusion of the Covid-19 pandemic. I took classes at Callenwolde Fine Art Center and eventually became a monitor to learn how to operate the kilns. As society crumbles around me, I continue to learn and become more proficient at this craft.

“That’s nice, but what about the art!”

I’m so glad you demanded!

The art of what I am trying to do is based on my observations and interpretations of complex emotions. As someone raised in rural Georgia, emotions were not taught to me. “How to recognize emotion” was not a kitchen table topic. You were allowed to be happy, sad, and mad. What else did you really need?

Fast forward to my inevitable therapy, we were working through identifying all the other emotions I was experiencing. I was given a copy of Robert Plutchik’s Emotion Wheel and asked to assess how I felt throughout each day. This introspection grew into an obsession to make up for 30+ years of emotional ignorance. What is the difference between feeling ‘bored’ and ‘annoyed’? What about feeling ‘proud’ versus ‘optimistic’? How do I spot the differences on someone’s face? I wanted to know.

Clay provides an infinite opportunity to create. It can be shaped and molded into anything. A good friend of mine made a ceramic penis with cockroaches printed on it. Why can’t I choose an emotion and try to help realize that emotion in clay? In the end, I chose a modern take of the historical face jugs of South Appalachia. Removing the static parts of the face to focus on a simple representation of emotion. A pair of eyes and a mouth shaped how I perceive emotions.