Little sister; Dia de los muertos inspired, earthenware sculpture with underglazes, built from a clay slab
About
I was intrigued by clay at a young age when I first witnessed the skilled hands of a rural potter slowly turn a lump of clay as if by magic, into a pot. As it happened it was not until many moons later that I chanced upon the opportunity to delve ever deeper into the exploration of all things clay.
I started working with clay when I enrolled in a clay class as a way to balance the challenges of a stressful job. I was so lucky to be at the right place, at the right time when ceramics in St. Petersburg started to blossom, creating access to many varied and wonderful workshops with some of the best in the world of ceramics, from Mel Jacobson, Rudi Autio, Peter Voulkus, Val Cushing to Pete Pinnell, Linda Arbuckle, Jason Burnett, and many more, including numerous very talented local artists. My self-taught journey in clay has been enhanced tremendously by having had the opportunity to participate in many workshops, and I was able to learn so much from so many creative, talented clay people whom I was fortunate to encounter, right here, where I live.
Having lived here in St. Petersburg, FL in the US, for over 40 years I spent my childhood in Portugal, Germany and India. The cultures and mythologies of my childhood influence my art work to this day, and combine with those of my adopted home. Over the years the fascination with this versatile ancient medium, and my love of fables and fairy tales combined to develop into my current style.
I hand build objects from flat slabs of clay and create what I call narrative sculptures. I am inspired by my relationship with the world around me, which provides me with a never ending source of material for asking questions and telling stories on my sculptural pieces.
Over the years the forms of my sculptures have changed, but the world around us continues to challenge me to ask question and tell stories with the help of this medium that I fell in love with so many years ago.
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