Connect What is your favorite type of art to create?

I love creating figurative ceramic sculptures. While I started in painting, clay allows me to physically pull my subjects out of the canvas and see around them. My favorite pieces to make involve human figures and animals paired with symbolic imagery. Sculpting these elements lets me daydream and map out complex emotions like love, loss, and vulnerability, turning private memories into shared public conversations about the human experience.

Where do you find inspiration?

I loved hearing Bob Dylan’s response to this question… “I don’t know where it comes from, but I’m hoping it never ends” I don’t start out with a sketch or plan. My work evolves as I make it, and is usually influenced by whatever is rolling around in my head at the moment. A book or movie, maybe a song and quite often a relationship past or present show up in my work. The body, nervous system and gut holds the experience of the life lived. I just try to dig in and find it.

What would you do with $25,000?

I’m currently in the process of making a book and stop motion short film based on certain characters from my ceramic work. I have found one of the greatest resources is time. This would “buy” me focused time to get farther along in the project. I could also out source some elements needed to help build the stop motion figures and set by hiring a part time assistant. It would be such an honor to receive this prize.