About:

I, like most people, started making and creating as a young child. The only difference is that I never stopped.  Even while getting my business degree at the University of Colorado Boulder and juggling my job as a waitress, I was addicted to making things in my spare time. No matter what it was, I would find an excuse: a new apartment warranted glass cutting and electrical wiring to create a lamp out of an old bottle; a date provided an excuse to make a new pair of earrings out of collected rocks; a shower the reason to make soap. Opportunities were endless and I was enthusiastic.   

In 2011 I left the Wild West and relocated to the East Coast.  Initially it was a short-term move. I had worked in the hospitality industry for 15 years and the restaurant scene in Portland was booming, so it seemed like a fun place to be for a few years. But life tends to work out in ways you never expected. First the ocean hooked me, then I signed up for a pottery class, and next found a job as an assistant to a local artist - all which kept me here just long enough to fall in love with a Mainer. Nine years later and I am still here, living and working out of my art studio in an old farmhouse on the shores of the Kennebec River. I am beyond lucky to have stumbled into such a welcoming and creative community, and have now been a part of the Bowdoinham Guild of Artisans for two years. 

While not formally trained in art, experience has been my teacher. It has not always been kind to me, but it has been honest. They say art is self-discovery. I have learned two very important things about myself through making art. The first is how much I smile. Smiling has always been a way for me to break down barriers and also as a reminder to enjoy the little things. So it comes as no surprise that my work tends to make people smile. The second – I anthropomorphize. Everything. My favorite movie as a child was The Brave Little Toaster. More often than not I find myself attaching a hand on a mug in place of a handle, or sculpting feet on the foot of my bowl. Right now ceramics is my primary medium; but I am happy as long as I am making. 

Artist Statement:

As a child I loved to make cuts into sheets of folded paper. When cut just right, these solid sheets could transform into delicate snowflakes, each always unique, or into garlands of paper dolls holding hands – my absolute favorite. The suspenseful moment of unfolding these pieces of paper, revealing their silhouettes and intricate patterns -this transformation - is what inspires me to make. Through my desired mediums of clay and metal, my work focuses on the alteration of organic materials into lasting vessels, jewelry, and art. I make whimsical wares lighthearted in nature. Pottery providers me the freedom to make almost any object I desire out of a ball of clay. Each time I open the kiln lid I am still in awe at how that lump of mud can turn into such a colorful, sturdy, useful vessel. Jewelry allows me to celebrate the beauty of nature and turn it into wearable art. Through the process of electroforming, metal allows me to preserve nature’s intricate detail. It is possible to preserve something as fragile as a honeybee - wings and antennas sometimes miraculously intact, and turn it into a charm and keepsake. (Nothing is ever harmed in the making; all objects are only preserved once life has passed). I know I have honored my playful aesthetic when I see people look at my products and a smile spreads across their faces. I bring people and nature together, like those paper chains of people, for we are all made from the same blank page.