ARTIST’S STATEMENT
Every piece of art I make begins with a story. Whether I find it in myth, religion, psychology or a scrawl of graffiti, story drives me as an artist and gives me the energy to transform blocks of clay into sculptures, often life-sized.
I don’t choose stories so much as they choose me. When they do, words intermingle with images in my head, and I record both with quick scribbles and sketches. If a story grabs me with urgency, I might start a piece of art the same day; other times I return to ideas years later.
The figure is my vessel – typically human, sometimes animal. Usually I make the complete figure, but sometimes I just make the head as the center of emotion and communication. Gesture, expression and interaction are my vocabulary. Repetition and collage are my chapters and verses. Clay is my medium, sometimes combined with found objects that carry their own stories.
I build my pieces completely by hand, using stiff slabs and hand-formed coils. My style is an abstracted realism that generally follows human proportion, but from which I freely deviate, and I love to leave traces of handbuilding and other “imperfections.” I am drawn to glazes and surfaces that quieten and unify the pieces.
My artwork, like me, is often called quiet. I hope that my art is soulful and meaningful. If it is, then I have accomplished what I set out to do as an artist.
Education
Glassell School of Art, Houston, TX, Certificate of Achievement in Ceramics, 2015
University of Texas at Austin, M.A
University of Houston, B.A.
Selected Exhibitions
2021
“Some Things Just Hurt” – Bosque Gallery, Lone Star College – Cy-Fair. March, 2021
“Altamira, Sculpture Month Houston” – Site Gallery, The Silos at Sawyer Yards. October, 2021.
2019
“True North 2019” – Heights Boulevard Art Project. Selected artist for this outdoor sculpture exhibit, on view from March-December 2019.
“Ancestors” – solo exhibit (with Ellen Ray) at Jung Center, Houston. September, 2019.
2018
“1st Annual Fayetteville Clay Invitational,” Red & White Gallery, Fayetteville, Texas.
“Come Together: A Sawyer Yards Collaborative Exhibition,” Winter Street Studios, Houston.
“Real / Surreal: A Juried Exhibition,” Silos at Sawyer Yards, Houston
2017
“Fired Up: Sculpture from the Silos,” Silos at Sawyer Yards, Houston2017
“Profusion in the Void: Texas Sculpture Group Show” – Artspace 111, Fort Worth, TX
2016
“Rorpost: An International Art Collaboration Project” – Art Car Museum, Houston, TX & Town Hall, Esbjerg, Denmark
8th Annual Juried Exhibition – Archway Gallery, Houston, TX
“Bark at the Art: Highland Lakes SPCA Benefit”– Marta Stafford Fine Art, Marble Falls, TX
2015
“Art in 3 Dimensions” – Centro Cultural Atzlan, San Antonio, TX
“Community Supported Art” – Round 2, Fresh Arts, Houston, TX
Certificate of Achievement Exhibition, Glassell School of Art, Houston, TX
“596 Miles,” International Women’s Foundation, Marfa, TX
2014
Award Winners Exhibition, Glassell School of Art, Houston, TX
“Flywheel: Clay & Found Objects,” Marta Stafford Fine Art, Marble Falls, TX
2013
“Dog Is Good,” Buchanan Gallery, Galveston Island, TX
“Roughneck: A Juried ClayHouston Exhibition,” NCECA 2013 @ Houston Center for Contemporary Craft
“Sculpture Vision: An Outdoor Ceramics Invitational,” NCECA 2013 @ Lone Star College – North Harris
2012
“Layover: Houston Airport System Portable Artwork Collection Preview,” Houston Arts Alliance – Alliance Gallery
Art Chatter Group Exhibition, Buchanan Gallery, Galveston Island, TX
“Seasons In Ash,” sculpture installation, Art League Houston
2011
Summer Group Show, Buchanan Gallery, Galveston Island, TX
Annual Student Exhibition, Glassell Studio School, Houston
“GAMBOL: Art League Houston Juried Member Exhibition,” Art League Houston
Clay Houston Sculpture Show, E4 Gallery, Austin
2010
Spotlight on Clay, Hanson Galleries, Houston
SAO Select: A Glassell Student/Alumni Exhibition, Tradition Bank, Houston
Summer Group Exhibition, Buchanan Gallery, Galveston Island, Texas
Introductions, Canal Street Gallery, Houston
The Art of Fine Craft, 18 Hands Gallery, Houston
2009
Holiday Group Exhibition, Buchanan Gallery, Galveston Island, Texas
20th Anniversary Exhibition, Buchanan Gallery, Galveston Island, Texas
Collections
Houston Airport System
Armadillo Clay Company
Marta Stafford Fine Art
Publications
“500 Figures in Clay, Volume 2,” Lark Books (2014)
