Artist Statement

Like a tenuous thread that weaves together the past and present my suspended sculptures are the connection to the memories of my grandmothers. They reference the quilts, toys, and clothes that I grew up with that were made by my grandmothers. These pieces explore my memories of their craft, practice, and stories.  

When I was young my grandmother Pierce would keep me busy with crocheting and needlepoint. She generously shared her passion for making. I remember watching her fingers nimbly crochet a blanket while sharing stories of how the women in my family would gather in a tiny kitchen to stitch together a quilt. She described the scraps of fabric and where they came from, the large dowels that held the top and bottom of the quilt, and she talked about how the hand stitched patterns were as important to the overall piece as each of the scraps. One of the quilts I remember was made from my mother’s handmade childhood clothes. Her dresses were carefully cut apart and then stitched into a new quilt that became a gift for my mother. Apparent are the darts and pockets that once belonged to my mother’s dresses.

I can remember sleeping under these beautiful quilts and playing with handmade dolls. These pieces were once part of my everyday experience, used without thought of the care that went into creating them. Now, they are prized possessions in my home; heirlooms passed from one generation to the next. They serve as inspiration to this body of work.

My work has alway been steeped in the tradition of utilitarian ceramics and while these sculptures take on the form of a quilt each of the tiles references utilitarian pottery, like a bowl or a container of sorts. I see each of the parts that make up the whole as containers for stories. The cutouts in the tiles subtly reference pockets where they conceal and reveal another pattern and underlying color. I want these pieces to have a lightness to them, like they’re floating, and where the cutouts create an unexpected playfulness with light and shadows. Lastly, I love the sound of the porcelain pieces tinging against each other, a constant reminder of their fragility. 

These memories live within me, my sister, and our cousins. A thread of our family story that I want to continue. By making these quilts I hope to share a bit of the the work and stories of these incredible craftswomen. Women who did not consider themselves artists but women passing their craft down through generations.