EnergyXchange - A Renewable Energy Center
A Renewable Energy Center
66 EnergyXchange Drive, Burnsville, NC 28714 T: 828-675-5541
Craft Studios
Current Residents
Artist Statement
Learning to sit, to trust --- this is the true quest, the bigger quest --- surrendering to the clay and allowing my sub-conscious to guide me.
I try not to push or over think. I work from my gut, allowing the clay and my heart to guide me. Familiar forms immerge, fragments that look like they may have been dug up from the ground or washed ashore. I spend a lot of time working my pieces, continually visiting and re-visiting, carving away, connecting parts, playing with all the possibilities … until I arrive at that sweet state of "knowing" that the figure or clay canvas is as it should be.
Presently I am privileged to be a clay resident at The EnergyXchange in Burnsville, NC. where my work is methane-fired from gases captured from a landfill. Recycling is deep in my nature. I live a life where “nothing is garbage” --- forever exploring found materials, re-interpreting them and incorporating them in both my life and art.
All of my pieces are one-of-a-kind. I am not interested in reproduction. I am dedicated to experimentation and celebrate the uniqueness of each creation.
Artist Biography
Born and raised in Peoria, IL., the third daughter to Shookie and Gloria. Shookie worked in the recycling industry and was a self-taught mixed-media artist; Gloria, a nurturing mother and antique dealer. My "adult years" in Illinois included studies at the University of Illinois in C-U and work in both the theatre and in radio. In my late twenties I journeyed toward my NYC roots and spent 21 years there juggling survival, performance art, visual art, antique dealing, writing, producing & performing in the theatre. It was there that I began studying clay at Greenwich House Pottery in the late 90’s. I studied with some terrific ceramic artists including Peter Gourfain, Melissa Stern, Anna Siok, Justin Novak and Kate Missett. I rusticated to the mountains of NC just five years ago to explore the fruits of focussing --- my chosen immersion --- CLAY. I have studied with remarkable artists at The Penland School of Crafts and in their private studios -- Lisa Clague, Tom Spleth, Cristina Cordova, Holly Walker and Paul Wandless. I work at the Penland School of Crafts in Development and I teach "mixed media clay with a focus on recycling" in the elementary schools in both Mitchell and Yancey Counties. I also teach at Penland Kid's Camp.
Presently, my work is available at Crimson Laurel Gallery in Bakersville, NC. (www.crimsonlaurelgallery.com), The Toe River Arts Council in Spruce Pine, NC and Burnsville, NC., The Collectors Gallery in Raleigh-Durham, NC. (www.thecollectorsgallery.com) and here at The EnergyXchange in Burnsville, NC.
