Artist Statement

This piece, “Herby Derby Takes a Dip” was inspired by my fruitless efforts to get my brother-in-law to take a dip in our pool. The entire summer, he sat by the pool and threatened to dive in but never did. I just wanted him to experience the amazing feeling of floating in a beautiful pool in the sun, on a floaty (my favorite way to spend a brutally hot summer day.) I made it into a candle holder, wanting to put a small functional aspect into the piece (something I rarely do.) This coming summer, I just might throw him in! This piece is built from coils and slabs using paperclay, with underglazes and clear glaze, and fired to cone 5-1/2.

Artist Bio

I have been drawing, painting and sculpting for as long as I can remember. When I was four years old, my nursery school teacher told my mother that I would be an artist. After graduating from Hartford Art School/U. of Hartford with a BFA in ceramic sculpture in 1974, I attempted to pursue a career in commercial art but it left me feeling hollow. In 1982, I was introduced to the craft of the Dental Ceramist which utilized my abilities in sculpture and color analysis (a truly unheralded craft in this country.) I was happy in this career for 25 years, including the ten years I spent running my own business. After the death of my husband in 2006, I closed my business and decided it was time to rededicate my time and energy to my artwork. I am a pastel painter as well as a sculptor, with my thought process being the common fiber that weaves through both my two and three- dimensional pieces. Clay is my first love, however, and even my paintings start off in my brain as clay pieces. The richness, texture and movement of soft clay fascinate me, and I strive to communicate this in my finished pieces. I look at the clay body as the end itself, rather than as a canvas for the glaze.