Handcrafted Exhibition

Two of my large vessels that were saved from the floods are going to be displayed and available for purchase at The Maria V Howard Arts Center located in the Imperial Centre for the Arts and Sciences in Rocky Mount, NC from Jan 31st until May 4th 2025.

About the pieces:

Divine Liberation

This large form was created on the wheel and thrown in multiple sections, which were joined together on the wheel and blended as the form was shaped. I applied a thick clay slip to the outside of the vessel and combed through the slip with my fingers in a wavy, rhythmic motion to create the texture and movement on the surface. This piece was made from stoneware clay, glazed in my purple glaze, and fired to cone 10 in a gas reduction kiln.

I created this large form in 2021 a few weeks after my father passed unexpectedly in an accident. This piece provided me with a therapeutic release and processing of my grief as I created it. The title came as an expression of the freedom I felt through the forgiveness I finally felt with his soul as he too was finally free from his pain and at peace.

You can watch a reel that includes several clips of the stages of creation here.

Kiln opening after firing Divine Liberation

Image of me cleaning off this piece after saving it from the flooded building

Graceful Resilience

This large form was created on the wheel and thrown in multiple sections, which were joined together on the wheel and blended as the form was shaped. I applied a thick clay slip to the outside of the vessel and combed through the slip with my fingers in a wavy, rhythmic motion to create texture and movement on the surface. (same process as above, but with a different firing method)

This piece has mica powder added to the outside to give a slight hint of color and iridescence to the surface. It was fired in a gas raku kiln to about 1000 degrees F where the kiln was then opened and I added a few strands of horse hair (the thicker hair from the tail) to burn onto the surface. Where the hair burns, the carbon is trapped inside the clay leaving behind the black markings. This is an older traditional Native American practice often used to honor and celebrate their horses.

I titled this piece Graceful Resilience to honor the extreme amount of thermal shock this piece has withstood and still remained strong and whole. The first time I fired it, the kiln was not hot enough and I had to take it through the raku firing a second time, which is incredibly risky as it continues to increase the chance of cracking (due to the extreme changes in temperatures quickly when the kiln is opened and the hair is added to the surface). When raku firing large pieces such as this vessel, the loss rate during the firing is already much higher and I celebrate each one such as this one that makes it through the whole process without cracking. This piece also survived the flood in the River Arts District in Asheville, NC, taking it’s resilience to a whole new level. Thankfully it did not get soaked in the flood water (raku firings are fired to a lower temperature where the clay is not vitrified, meaning it can still absorb water) as some angel placed this large piece upstairs on a very tall cart and by some miracle the cart did not get knocked over (the flood waters got as high as 4 feet in the second floor in some areas of the Riverview Station Building where my studio was located downstairs, fully submerged)

I do not have a video of me firing this specific piece, but you can see a clip of me doing a horsehair firing here.