Connect What is your favorite type of art to create?

I am versed in many mediums but I work mostly with clay. For the past 14 years my practice has centered around the metaphor of vessels. The vessel connects my writing and teaching. It lets me ask questions about containment, meaning, loss, and transformation. The vessel is object, subject, and method.

Where do you find inspiration?

I find inspiration in geology, chemistry, physics, philosophy, history, language, poetry, and in teaching ceramics. These are not separate interests but a framework. Geology and chemistry live in the clay, glaze and the kiln. Physics governs the wheel. Philosophy and language drive my search for meaning in clay and deepens my relationship. History grounds the work in centuries of ceramic tradition. Poetry shapes my writing. Teaching forces me to articulate what I know and confront what I assume.

What would you do with $25,000?

The fund goes toward a woodfire kiln, a structure that demands collaboration. Loading and firing takes a team of artists working in shifts over several days. The process transforms clay through sustained contact with flame and ash, producing surfaces no other method can replicate. For my practice, woodfiring connects the vessel directly to geological and cultural history. The kiln is shared infrastructure, deepening commitment to a creative process beyond the scope of any individual.