Spin, 2011                                                                                                  18.5 x 32 in                                                                                                     Bisque clay with okawara momigami paper

Pour, 2011                                                                                                    11 x 4 in                                                                                                 Bisque clay with okawara momigami paper

Vessel, 2011                                                                                                5.5 x 3 in                                                                                               Bisque clay with okawara momigami paper

Hold, 2011                                                                                                   9.5 x 5.5 in                                                                                             Bisque clay with okawara momigami paper and handmade abaca paper repair

Spin, 2011                                                                                                  18.5 x 32 in                                                                                          Japanese paper and ceramic

Pour, 2011                                                                                                    11 x 4 in                                                                                               Japanese paper and ceramic

Vessel, 2011                                                                                                5.5 x 3 in                                                                                            Japanese paper and ceramic

These works explore strength, vulnerability and protection. I drape, knot, thread, suspend, wrap, and braid damp sheets of handmade paper and demand that they hold bisque objects. The ceramic forms recall Etruscan anatomical votive offerings in their evocation of the female body. These forms ask the viewer to contemplate not what lies on the surface, but to imagine what may be hidden inside, concealed from view.

Through the marginalized media of handmade paper and ceramic, I contemplate the dual aspects of vulnerability and strength commonly attributed to women. These works are an attempt to explore and assuage my own joys and anxieties related to relationships and reproduction. They are odd containers of indistinct dreams, desires, and memories.

If Josef Albers wanted “to open eyes”, then, with these works, I want to awaken hands. I want the viewer to identify with the experience of touch, caress, hold, swaddle - and eventual release.