My work is high fire porcelain, wheel thrown. When the work is bone dry, I pencil sketch the images on.
I then brush shellac on the image, scratching through the designs for more detail.

The shellac must be hardened and completely dry for the final stage. I use a wet sponge or a toothbrush to wash away a fine layer of clay surrounding the design. This gives the flowers or leaves greater dimension, standing out from the surface. I glaze with clear, then brush with oxides or carbonates and a flux over the piece, giving the image further definition.

I like using porcelain because it is so sensitive to markings like this and the glaze has a saturated vibrant quality. The glazing process overtime reveals new subtleties which I investigate and emphasize, opening up more avenues to paint and draw on my pieces.

Working in porcelain gives me the raw canvas to bring out the glaze colors. Using simple materials as washes over clear or opaque glazes, I am able to highlight my skills as a painter on a three dimensional surface.

In my sculptural work the primary inspiration is two fold. The first series were for specific locations. Initially the work was based on green man sculptures from the 13 and 14th century cathedrals in northern Europe.

The more recent ones are to be placed on young trees. The second aspect is the embellishment of buildings.

For my motifs, I choose mostly native trees to Montana, flowers that will grow in this climate. Cottonwood, linden, burr oak, holly hocks, peony, rose, squash blooms. In the tree masks, I concentrate on integrating the human visage with the botanical.

As a fine ceramic artist, each body of work is created in a series, expanding and refining the forms and techniques. Each batch is a variation of my exploration of the forms and different permutations of glaze applications.