The day I conceived this series I had walked by a house with poetry written on scraps of wood posted in the yard. I’d never seen anything like it. This house was on the shore of Lake Superior, where I proceeded to spend my day picking up beach stones. The conciseness of the poetry and the smooth stones inspired me to create these Poetry Orbs. The way that water and wind shape stones and sand is reflected in the work you see here. These forms are succinct, like poetry.
My material is clay and my main process is coil construction. As I experiment with shapes inspired by Lake Superior stones, I discover that adding hollows in the forms introduces shadows that intrigue me. In the process of closing the top of the form, wave-lake shapes emerge that give each piece distinctive personality.
For me, both creating and viewing this work is a form of meditation. Through sharing this series I hope to share this peaceful state of mind with you.
My medium, clay, is strongly grounded in utilitarian work. In a twist on the tradition of clay vessels for holding tangible objects, I think of these totally enclosed forms as containers of breath.
