My work is a way for me to grapple with uncertainty and accept not knowing. The “unknown” seems magical and full of possibility when it is applied to things like outer space or the paranormal, but when it is personal it can be scary. Because the risks we encounter everyday are many and real, it feels like potential threats are everywhere. Yet, deciphering the difference between beautiful and dangerous is not always easy or possible. This complex work of living ensures that we are always changing in ways that are often imperceptible, and sometimes shocking. I am fascinated by these changes and our perceptions of them. Our capacity to adapt to change and, conversely, our inability to weather it, is a source inspiration for my work. Making things out of clay guides my inquiry into the mystery of human development and adaptation. The medium demands vigilance and is responsive to every shift in the environment, or manipulation, forcing me to maintain focus on what is in front of me. Because things are always changing, I am creating evidence that this time occurred, that it was, and still is, important. Like so many times before, there are, at most, only semi-lucid recollections, foggy images, or a familiar smell to secure the past’s status in the history of what makes up our present. Although it is uncertain territory, I often begin work on a sculpture from one of these recollections, or a mental image of someone at a specific place and time. The people, places, and times that I have in mind when I work are those that have made it through the tight mesh of debris and seem to demand recognition. During the making process the piece grows as I attempt to “flesh out” the power in that moment. The process is slow and intuitive and often doesn’t end up representing the moment that inspired it in any concrete way. Instead, the resulting figure conjures up a new truth that stands adjacent to the past. This new truth is a strange form of documentation; like a blurry photo found after a flood, it is not a complete image and can only be interpreted based on the clues that remain clear. I use clay to form shapes and create space, choose colors, and layer textures to build figures. These elements combine to express each figure’s ephemeral inspiration and the inherent potential of inevitable change. I refer to them as figures although many are not figurative in the traditional sense. However, they are, like our recollections, alive, open to interpretation, and subject to our ever-shifting perspective.