Artist Statement When I think back over my 32 years of creating art, I smile and wonder whether folks are surprised when I tell them that I’ve fallen in love with two very different forms of artistic expression: painting and clay. With both kinds of mediums, I am strongly influenced by nature, my mind being imprinted by wonderful images while kayaking and hiking. Natural shapes and forms that we see every day and commonly overlook fascinate me, as do the intricate surfaces of many of these forms when examined very closely -- these patterns in nature have inspired many of my works. Living on the beautiful, natural coast of South Carolina has fortunately provided me with many opportunities for observation, as has travel to several natural areas overseas. But I like to branch out and enjoy artistic challenges, being constantly tempted to try something different. Over the past many years, my clay work has included functional pottery, sculpture and jewelry. My current pieces reflect nature: drawing and then meticulously incising images of objects such as leaves and dragonflies into my jars, platters, vases and wall pieces. I also sketch images onto stoneware slabs and cut, fold, and twist the clay as new shapes evolve. I formulate my own glazes -- each piece is dipped or airbrushed with 3-5 layers and accented with over-glazes and oxides. They are then fired multiple times in oxidation to 2200 degrees.