Artist Statement

A theme to my ceramic work is a dialog that incorporates pushing the limits of my throwing ability as a female. I create vessels that hint at a figurative form with decorations inspired by graffiti that surrounds me. Wheel throwing almost immediately became my passion in ceramics, there was something about the formation and molding that became so seductive to me. I strive to push my skill level by creating the largest cylinder I can possibly throw. I enjoy pushing these basic physical boundaries of throwing. These forms have evolved from natural organic cylinders to forms having more relation to abstract representations of the female form. The large vessels hint at a figural form because of the contrast that is created with large powerful vessels that demand attention partnered with feminine curves. Showing off my physical strength in a positive sense as a potter has been hugely seductive for me. Mainly I’ve been working with the muse of graffiti as the decoration of my vessels. I’m obsessed with the notion of graffiti as a form of global communication between social classes, I have always been envious of graffiti writers because of their uncompromising ability to throw up beautifully layered tags in a matter of minutes in areas only Spiderman could reach. The two main concepts I wanted to capture in the decoration of my work is the layered aspect of graffiti along with the principle of graffiti as leaving your mark. Leaving your mark cites a kind of visual immortality that I have become obsessed with, but this is also partnered with the idea that nothing lasts forever; things constantly change (graffiti is constantly changing by either being removed or tagged over). So I’ve focused on this idea of the need to leave marks either being physical or mental in ones surroundings. Leaving my mark on the vessels I create is I kind of territorial declaration. Within all aspects of my artistic ability there is a repetitive movement, I enjoy capturing work that has playful with an aggressive commonality. I enjoy making large forms on the wheel because it is an articulation of form in regards to power, as a female potter this definition of strength is a major aspect in my work.

Recent Works

Part II: My Art

I have been practicing the art of ceramics for about 10 years; my appreciation for the art began bashfully. I was never the type of kid that was excited to attend art classes. At Millbrook School which was a boarding school in upstate New York is where I began my career in ceramics. These are details of my life which have impacted my experiences in art. Similarly to most artists, I create art from the experiences in my life. I try and find parallels in my life in which I can execute an art piece that creates a dialog with the viewer that explains my intentions. The risk aspect I’ve incorporated in my work includes both physically creating large pots that demand a certain attention from the viewer and reviling some of my obsessive insecurities as well.

My first inquiry into what type of art I wanted to create and what I wanted it to say began with an in depth investigation into creating parallels with ceramics and graffiti art. Growing up on the outskirts of New York City I was constantly surrounded by graffiti, it became ubiquitous to me. It wasn’t until I got to college and became apart of the artist community that I established an appreciation for graffiti. Graffiti is a counter cultural creative form of expression in the context of the street but also promotes global communication between different socioeconomic classes. With this concept of graffiti in had I wanted to push the material limits of graffiti by altering its traditional canvas without trying to jeopardize the integrity of the craft. Graffiti is a poetic statement of leaving your mark behind for the masses to find it. It becomes a pen name for artists to be publicly recognized without having a hierarchy of loops to jump through to get their work out there.

Ceramic stuff

Part I: It all started with a spray can

They come at night. They bring with them photocopies, strips of wallpaper, paste, labels or spray stencils. By the morning, the results of their activities are visible and stuck to facades, control boxes, traffic signs and containers. Once you start noticing the messages, you can't escape. The term "street art" has gained acceptance to describe these new, subcultural outpourings of recent years. Street art exploits public spaces in the same way as graffiti, tags or writing, but its messages and pictures are far more specific. The works of street artists are creative, telling stories, giving advice or invoking pause for thought as you pass. Their symbols, messages and faces shape and change public spaces and the way they are seen. Street art is thus not only a subcultural and creative form of expression in the context of the street but also a contribution to the promotion of human communication. In the broadest sense, street musicians and other performers can be ranked with street art. Street art is urban living, direct and without a filter. In our midst, in our streets. It is a form of personality development, linked with a wish to leave a mark and to grand stand.

"The words of the prophets were written on the subway walls and the tenement halls."

Simon & Garfunkel's "Sounds of Silence"

"Graffiti is fucking energy", it brings people together from all over, from all different backgrounds. Its the biggest art movement in its numbers alone. In this clip of a trailer for the movie Bomb It, different aspects of graffiti are explained along with personal insights from prominent graffiti artists about the graffiti movement. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oi1mo3ngfUs

This link is to the Bomb It movie page and lists the artists filmed in the movie, artist whose work inspire me. http://www.bombit-themovie.com/artists.php

This is a link to a view a movie called Style Wars which is a documentary of New York graffiti circa 1983. Presented by Tony Silver & Henry Chalfant. A production of (c) 1983 Public Art Films Inc. (a non-proffit organization). In the first few minutes of the film one will get a greater understanding of what the soul of graffiti is, along with an interview with a police detective which concludes how the other side of graffiti is viewed more negatively. http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=-5065949310221269915&ei=hOHkSazgDaSs-gHjx93kDQ&q=style+wars&hl=en&client=firefox-a

If you click the video at this website it show the work of a radical graffiti artist with the tag BLU. He relates to my work because he has taken graffiti to a whole new level with video and that is what I hope to do with my graffiti tiles. Graffiti itself has such possibilities and its my goal to find a new method or take it to the next level with out being too pretentious. http://www.blublu.org/sito/video/muto.htm

LED bombing which was developed by Graffiti Research Lab (aka GRL) is also another form or graffiti being taking to the next level. Example's are in this link http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=No5gNb9INGI&feature=related and this is their website with far more examples of cutting edge graffiti. play this video and it will blow your mind http://graffitiresearchlab.com/?page_id=76#video