Hand-built and hand-painted porcelain mug with floral decoration.

I’ve strayed from the wheel and I hope you enjoy these hand-built and hand painted pieces.

An interior view of a chartreuse basket. I use mason stains to color the clay in the beginning stages, wedging stains in to fresh clay.

Wheel thrown and altered bowl, approximately 7 inches tall by 12 inches wide. This cut-out design was inspired by walking past a similar brick wall on a sunny day. These bowls can be used to fill with fruit or leave empty and watch the light pass through.

A close up of a basket, showing the center interior. There are over 500 cuts on this basket, creating a feeling similar to lace. I design the bowl by marking thirds vertically and then the rest is done free hand.

A lot of my work is very precise, so even making one small change to the surface design can have a dramatic effect on the look and feel of a piece. I enjoy playing with rhythm through repetition.

Small 5 oz Cortado mug exploring linear patterns inspired by weavings and fiber art. The design was achieved by using tape as a resist, with layers of underglaze, wax and glaze. I was a barista for years, and this was one of my favorite drinks to enjoy and make.

Wheel thrown mug with a slab built handle. Hand painted orange gradient with markings in a random, organic sequence. These mugs are very labor intensive, involving multiple layers of underglaze, tape, wax and glaze.

A different view of the Rain Rhythm mugs to show the texture and matte finish. Small lines or markings cascade, organically along a gradient background, reminiscent of the sound and feeling of rain.

One of my favorite pieces I made. Wheel thrown and altered cup and saucer, exploring the tulip form and my love for the flora and fauna of the northwest.

Tall fruit basket. I am inspired by the forms of Lucie Rie and my bowls are an ode to her.

24 oz carafe with a set of two cups to enjoy water at the bedside or decanting a bottle of wine at dinner. The cups stack nicely together and can be stored inside the top of the carafe for easy storage.

Enjoy some tea with this striped teacup and saucer.

Candle holder to light up those dark winter evenings.

Garlic keeper to hold 2-3 garlics, keeping them fresher, longer. The process of cutting out, or removing clay to explore the negative space of these pieces captivated me for quite some time. I started off with the colander, then the basket form which led to other functional pieces in the kitchen, including this garlic keeper. The intersection of function within our spaces of domesticity is a reoccurring theme in my work.

Wheel thrown porcelain mug with an underglaze gradient and markings that resemble rain falling. Inspired by the rhythmic sounds of rain falling in the Pacific Northwest, this particular mug’s surface design was approached with spontaneity, rather than perfectly calculated and spaced markings. The randomness mimics that of actual rainfall and was a turning point in my recent body of work allowing for a more organic approach to surface decoration.

New Zealand Porcelain, underglaze, glossy clear glaze, fired to cone 5 electric.

Wheel thrown and hand-built porcelain tea pot set includes teapot, strainer for loose leaf tea, creamer, sugar jar, and two teacups with saucers. Surface decoration was achieved by applying thin pieces of tape and painting over them with underglaze.

New Zealand Porcelain, underglaze, glossy clear glaze, fired to cone 5 electric.

Wheel thrown, large porcelain planter with a Bauhaus inspired motif. Drainage and drip tray included. Surface design is created with intricate taping as a means of resist and custom-mixed underglaze.

New Zealand Porcelain, underglaze, glossy clear glaze, fired to cone 5 electric.

Wheel thrown porcelain mug with underglaze surface decoration. This body of work was exploring the subtle and often unnoticed changes that are happening all around us. The darkening of the sky at sunset and the candy pink clouds slowly diminishing into the night. Surface decoration created through tape as a resist, underglaze and a hand-painted gradient.

New Zealand Porcelain, underglaze, glossy clear glaze, fired to cone 5 electric.

Wheel thrown porcelain mug with an orange gradient and dark blue markings. This series of work exploring gradients and gradual changes in color and weight started when I became pregnant with my first little one. As my body began to change and my belly grew, my mind became to notice all the little changes around me and inside me. A shift from my old self into a mother was slowly taking place. Entering my third trimester in the fall, my belly grew rounder and the leaves around me were turning fantastical colors and then slowly fading and falling into the dirt. I sensed the same sort of transformation within me, my emotions swelling and falling, letting go of something beautiful to make room for something new. I hope to convey all these feelings of gradual change and beauty that I felt within myself as well as what was being reflected in our external environment.

New Zealand Porcelain, underglaze, glossy clear glaze, fired to cone 5 electric.

Wheel thrown porcelain vase, underglaze, glossy interior glaze. I strive to compliment each form with a simple and structured surface design, usually involving stripes or lines and a pop of color. I love the way the stripes enhance the bold silhouette of the form, creating a strong and striking piece.

New Zealand Porcelain, underglaze, glossy clear glaze, fired to cone 5 electric.

Wheel thrown porcelain mugs and planters. This series was inspired by the work of Agnes Martin, an American abstract painter. I am drawn to Martin’s work for its simplicity and bold, geometric compositions. The color palette was inspired by the external environment around me. The tree outside my front window with its vibrant orange leaves slowly fading into a rich red and then deep purple. The gradients are hand painted using a combination of tape and wax resist techniques.

New Zealand Porcelain, underglaze, glossy clear glaze, fired to cone 5 electric.

Wheel thrown porcelain mug with

“Our life always expresses the result of our dominant thoughts.” — Soren Kierkegaard

Wheel thrown porcelain mug with a geometric abstraction of rain decorating the exterior of the mug. Different layers are created through underglaze, resist techniques involving intricate taping, wax and a glossy glaze that wraps around the handle and interior of the mug.

New Zealand Porcelain, underglaze, glossy clear glaze, fired to cone 5 electric.

Wheel thrown porcelain mug with Bauhaus inspired decoration. Some of my most recent inspirations have come from weavings, textile and design. I am drawn to art during the Bauhaus period, for its plainness, simplicity, modernity and striking, bold colors. You often see grids and grid-like patterns as well, which strung a chord with my linear design patterns.

New Zealand Porcelain, underglaze, glossy clear glaze, fired to cone 5 electric.

Wheel thrown porcelain mug with Bauhaus inspired motif.

Wheel thrown porcelain bowl with stripes. I have always been fascinated by bowls. Striving for that perfect sexy, seamless curve that makes the form sing when you get it just right. Tape resist with underglaze application.

New Zealand Porcelain, underglaze, glossy clear glaze, fired to cone 5 electric.

Wheel thrown porcelain mug with alternating stripes of cream and indigo. I do most of my surface decoration with underglaze. At first, I was struggling with finding the right color palette. Then it dawned on me; I am not limited to what comes out of the bottle! Now I mix all my colors by hand and I am much happier with the more muted, richer and mature tones that sing together.

New Zealand Porcelain, underglaze, glossy clear glaze, fired to cone 5 electric.

Wheel thrown porcelain cup with striped decoration. My art is constantly evolving. Rarely do I stay still at one point with a particular style or surface decoration. The challenge of creating something new and unknown feeds my artistic appetite and pushes my work in a direction that is fresh and authentic. On this particular cup, I was making a small change in surface decoration with a single wavy line near the center and it catapulted me into a sea of new ideas that eventually lead to the more intricate tape/line work I do now, including Rain Rhythms.

New Zealand Porcelain, underglaze, glossy clear glaze, fired to cone 5 electric.

Wheel thrown fermentation crock with water tight seal. Holds a gallon of goodies.

Oregon Red, underglaze, white liner glaze, fired to cone 5 electric.

“It’s not what you put into it. It’s what you leave out.” Almost Famous (movie) quote that guides a lot of my artistic design decisions. These colanders are one of my favorite forms to make. I start with a large wheel thrown porcelain bowl, trim a tall foot into it, and when it is leather-hard begin to drill holes around the bowl. It’s a balancing act removing so much clay and the piece begins to take on a new level of fragility and strength when done precisely. The porcelain also speaks for itself. It is a beautiful clay with luminescent properties. Not the easiest to work with, but the successes outweigh the failures. Often my designs start out busy and I always ask myself what I could be taking away or removing to get down to the essence of what I am trying to say or the essence of the form. Simplicity speaks loudly.

New Zealand Porcelain, glossy clear glaze, fired to cone 6 electric.

Wheel thrown porcelain mugs decorated with dual colored stripes. This mug represents my arrival at a mug form that
I will come to embrace for quite some time. I spent years exploring different forms for the potter’s quintessential form: the mug. Hand-built, wavy, bulbous, truncated - you name it, I tried it. A lot of my explorations have been failures that have lead me to realize what I am looking for in my work. A simple, structured form that elevates and works with the surface decoration. This was a big turning point for me, I realized I didn’t need to reinvent the wheel, I just needed a simple form, done well, to act as a canvas for color and design.

New Zealand Porcelain, underglaze, glossy clear glaze, fired to cone 5 electric.

Wheel thrown porcelain mug, underglaze decoration.

New Zealand Porcelain, underglaze, glossy clear glaze, fired to cone 5 electric.

Wheel thrown porcelain cocktail cup colored with mason stain. One of my favorite ways to seamlessly color clay is to wedge mason stains into the clay while wedging. It allows for a unified, rich hue without the use of underglaze or painting. This technique is also great to precisely measure how much colorant you are using to achieve gradients and other design elements that are explored later in my work.

New Zealand Porcelain, mason stain, glossy clear glaze, fired to cone 6 electric.

Often my designs start out busy and I always ask myself what I could be taking away or removing to get down to the essence of what I am trying to say or the essence of the form. Simplicity speaks loudly. These colanders were a joy to photograph as well. Playing with different light sources to showcase the intricate work that was done carefully removing the clay with a drill.

New Zealand Porcelain, glossy clear glaze, fired to cone 6 electric.

Whitestone clay, matte black glaze, fired to cone 6 electric.