The rural wildness of my youth was marked by great solitude which provided room for creative expression. Feeling alienated from my peers further motivated retreat into productive imagination. To cope with this social disconnect I have developed a love of the absurd, and a prioritization of silliness and humor that I take very seriously.

Multiplying features on a single face illustrates complex reactions that flit between emotions. Seeking to understand and relate to others I work to engage the viewer in a process of wonder and self exploration about their own reactions and responses in comparison to those of people around them. Distorted mirror finishes in place of the face invite the viewer to come close and provide their visage, creating intimacy with the work, collaborating and sharing in an experience, and challenging identity.

Relatable yet alien, the characters in this series bring to light experiences of otherness, isolation, insecurity, a desire to empathize, and a need for compassion. The difficult reality of loneliness is offered in a up beat pallet of color and pattern, helping to digest hard feelings.

In 2009, I received an Undergraduate Research Grant and in 2010 graduated as a University Research Scholar with honors with a Bachelors of Fine Art in Ceramics and Sculpture from UNC-Asheville. After owning a functional pottery business for 5 years my work began transitioning to sculpture. I have received several awards and scholarships including a Teaching Invitation at Seika University in Kyoto, Japan. I have completed artist residencies in Grass Valley, California, Breck Create in Breckenridge, Colorado and Odyssey ClayWorks

in Asheville, NC. In 2016, I was demonstration assistant for Patti Warashina and Lauren Grossman at NCECA, workshop assistant for Patti Warashina at Santa Fe Clay, and again with Ms.Warashina at the 2017 Women Working with Clay Symposium. In 2019 I assisted Kukuli Velarde at NCECA. My work can be found in the Permanent Collection of North Carolina Pottery at the Mint Museum of Craft and Design in Charlotte and was featured in the 2016 group exhibition DavidStuempfle Selects: North Carolina Pottery in a Global Context. I recently exhibited work in the American Museum of Ceramic Art, Fahrenheit 2018 Biennial in Pamona, California, and in 2019 in Clay Center New Orleans, Clay Bodies, Juried by Jamie Bates Sloan. I was invited to juror the 2020 Sculpture National at the Clay Center New Orleans which opens next year. Currently I am pursuing my Masters in Fine Art at Clemson University.

Education

2019Accepted Fine Arts Graduate, Clemson University, Clemson, South Carolina

2010 Bachelors of Fine Art with Honors – University Research Scholar, University of North Carolina at Asheville

2005 & 2009 Deans List

2002-2003 Apprenticeship, Turtle Island Pottery, Maggie and Freeman Jones, Black Mountain, NC

Permanent Collection

Permanent Collection of North Carolina Pottery at the Museum of Craft and Design, Charlotte, NC

Exhibitions

Selected Juried

2019 Clay Bodies, Juror Jamie Bates Slone, Clay Center of New Orleans, New Orleans, LA

2018 Fahrenheit 2018, Juror Patti Warashina, American Museum of Ceramic Arts, Pomona, CA