Artist Statement

Inspired by the expansive history of craft and decorative arts, my porcelain vessels combine styles that pay homage to the history of my medium with contemporary design choices that challenge the expectations of classical forms. My historical inspiration ranges from ancient Greek narrative vessels, to 18th and 19th century European porcelain manufactures like Meissen and Sevres, to early 20th century Art Nouveau styles. My studio practice and research explore the relationships between craft, decoration, domesticity, and play and their roles in contemporary life. 

Reflecting on my own feelings and experiences with domesticity and on the larger patterns of socialization they reveal, my most recent body of work uses decoration and domestic objects to express my discomfort with stereotypes of feminine virtue that I grew up around in the American South. These specific ideas of socialized feminine virtue center around domestic service and physical appearance. Working primarily in porcelain with the addition of textiles, I intentionally embrace feminized materials, styles, and methods of making, which hold associations with women or girls. Through hand-crafted tableware, dolls, and decorative patterns I critique gendered forms of socialization while questioning historical and contemporary perceptions of feminine taste and women' s labor. The doll as a subject in my work references a view of women as objects of beauty, which hold no agency, and reflects my own discomfort with the feeling of being on display in public life. In addition to communicating my exhaustion with the idea that women enjoy domestic service, I am interested in romanticizing mess as a way of separating it from internalized shame. By exploring social resistance through the feminized qualities which feel authentic to myself and my taste, I aim to elevate perceptions of craft and domestic labor.