I am a Midwestern, interdisciplinary artist focused primarily on functional ceramics, fiber arts and collage. Originally from Eastern Iowa, I hold a bachelor of fine arts degree from the University of Northern Iowa. I operate a studio in my home in Minnesota.
As a ceramicist and mixed-media artist, I am motivated to explore physical forms and the interplay of materials. Topics such as the natural world, biology, sexuality, gender constructs, and violence are common to my work. Sex and death are principal themes. I also allow my life experiences to inform my work and to incorporate an autobiographical aspect. My primary focus over the past few years has been on pottery (functional, experimental and sculptural), developing my process in that area, and building up my studio. However, I use a wide variety of materials and skills to create art. Some of the mediums I exploit include: fiber art (embroidery, sewing), collage, photography, pigment transfer, and printing.
In my body of work Skins of Carnage, I use the abstracted forms of naturally expired animals native to where I grew up in the Midwest to serve as a platform for discussing societal issues. Due to the fact that the observer doesn’t know how these creatures came to be deceased, there is an undertone that questions violence. Violence seems to be inexplicably inherent to humankind as a tool of manipulation and an antidote to shame and humiliation, as well as an act of survival. The looming presence of death within the pieces serve as a reminder of the mortality of life. I wished to express death not only as the final state of a living being, but also as the continuation of life through decomposition. The theme is perpetuated by the permanence of the art as an object juxtaposed by the fragility of the material used.
More recently in National Pornographic, I use collage to discuss concepts of sexuality and body image through the lens of a queer non-binary person. Additional issues of censorship and violence are also found within the complex imagery. The photographs used to create the work are transferred from National Geographic, as well as from pornographic magazines. The people represented in the artworks are often objectified and fetishized, but show no shame or remorse. They offer challenge either by looking directly at the viewer, or with their eyes closed and their mouths agape in staged ecstasy.
This imagery, transferred onto organza fabric and embellished by hand with embroidery. This technique adds a frailness and ornamentation to the wall-hangings. It also brings the artist’s hand physically back into the piece in a visual way. The intricate detail of the embroidery accompanied by the depiction of graphic pornography provides a glimpse into the way women and sexuality are viewed in American culture. Recurring undertones of violence and depictions of animals bring forth additional questions regarding cultural ethics and personal morals within our society.
These themes of death and eroticism tie back into my pottery with Transcendental Augmentations. My explorative process incorporates various materials to create mixed-media ceramic pieces with sculpture and weaving. I’ve always been drawn to the juxtaposition of textures, as well as the tension created by wrapping and pulling thread through and around material. Raku firing pottery allows me to begin incorporating things such as bone and horse hair back into my work, and echoes the fragility of my embroidered and collaged work.