Just a heads up that there are only ten pieces left in the online shop from the Urchin and Medusa series in bell jars and most of them are going to be headed south of the border very soon. So if you live in the US, appreciate reasonable shipping rates and there is something you’ve had your eye on, now’s the time to make your move or forever hold your peace.
About this series: The Urchins and Medusas are made with very thin pieces of perforated, nearly translucent porcelain, if held up to the light the edges will glow. The forms are inspired by the bone structures of single cell planktons and reminiscent of sea urchin shells and jellyfish. These small handheld size pieces appear fragile but are surprisingly strong. Each piece is protected in a glass bell jar with base.
To be honest, I’m not a big gift giver, or a big fan of receiving gifts, especially if it’s “just because” it’s holiday season but sometimes a gift is the best way to really show someone that you care. When I do give gifts, they tend to be handmade, consumable, and/or an experience I can share with the person. When I travel, I seek out souvenir gifts that follow these same rules and I end up with a story to tell and a great memory from that purchase. It takes a little more effort to gift this way, but I think it’s worth it.
When you buy from a small business, you support an actual human. And when you buy from a maker, you support their creative contribution to a community. As someone who sells tangible items, I can tell you first hand how much your choice to buy something handmade by an actual human supports my world.
So, this is all to say, if you’re buying gifts for those that you love this holiday season, the online shop is open! And if I don’t have what you need for a gift, please consider supporting other independent makers – they will definitely appreciate it way more than your big box stores. As always, thank you for your support – I couldn’t do it without you!
Since I’m still obsessed with all things plankton related, I couldn’t help but share this article NPR recently released on the connection between plankton and climate change. The science geek in me, loves to read about how important plankton are for sustaining life on our planet. The artist in me wants to figure out how I can share that knowledge through my art.
This idea relates well to my concept of creating the plankton blooms installations, taking a single cell plankton which are impossible to see with the naked eye, and making them made big enough to relate to in the gallery. Then assembled in the form of a plankton bloom, which in nature is big enough to be seen from space and shrinking it down to fit the gallery walls, ultimately, makes the unseen, seen. I love how changing our perspectives allow for the information to sink in through the visuals of art.
Just a reminder that a portion of all online sales for the month of October will be donated to CERF+, an organization that helps artists in emergency relief.
They will be distributing funding to dozens of artists who lost their studios and artwork during the flooding in western North Carolina.
Western North Carolina is home to so many clay artists, some of whom I know personally, and many have lost their studios, work and livelihood in the flooding from Hurricane Helene.
If you are looking for ways to help, CERF+(Craft Emergency Relief Fund), provides Emergency Grants as well as Get Ready Grants for Craft Artists. It is a great way to help these artists get back on their feet and prepare for the future.
I will be donating a portion of all sales in the online shop for the month of October to CERF+, so if you want to help artists AND get some art, click here!
Have you seen the video of where my inspiration for making porcelain urchins came from?
This video was taken at Davenport Landing in California, a favorite spot of mine and home to millions of purple urchins at low tide. Can you believe, they actually bite away at the rock with their teeth and slowly sculpt their protected home around them?
Purple urchins are beautiful and mesmerizing to watch but they have also been multiplying like crazy in recent years and devouring the kelp beds off the California coast at an unstable rate. This is due to sea star wasting disease, as the sea stars are the main predator of urchins. The urchins have thrived and they can eat up a kelp forest in no time. The kelp forests are the food source and habitat for hundreds of other marine creatures. The good news is that the roe inside the urchins is delicious and a Japanese delicacy called uni, so if you see some purple urchins, don’t be afraid to crack them open and eat up the golden roe, you can help save the kelp beds and get a fancy meal out of it!
If you want to take a piece of the ocean home with you, pieces from this series are available in the online shop.
There are only a few items left in the online shop!
A selection of porcelain Medusas and Urchins in Bell Jars and colorful Trinket Necklaces are available in the online shop. Pieces from these series will not be available for sale in the US again, so grab them before it’s too late!
A Feast of Fennels Umbels at Sierra Azul Gardens will be coming down soon. If you’d like to transplant these sculptures into your garden – now is your chance!
There are four flowers available in varying sizes, the height of the flower stems can be made custom for your space. Free local installation, feel free to contact me with questions!
A million years ago, I was making a lot of insect inspired works, like this bee inspired one which bounced when you touched the metal rods. We had just moved into the redwood forest and I think I was inspired by some of the critters that made their way into our home. I made small abstract critters using a combination of clay, copper, steel and wire mesh and loved getting the heavy clay bodies to stand on tiny wire legs. (which is not dissimilar to my current medusa sculptures!)
I also remember making a small installation of abstracted bugs with wire wings that were installed to look like a small swarm in flight. I think there was maybe a dozen of them and I remember wanting to make hundreds of them but for some reason didn’t. I haven’t thought about that piece in forever and I couldn’t even find any documentation of it.
Now, living in the desert, I’m surrounded by the weirdest critters, like stick bugs, trap-door spiders and praying mantis. Just the other day, a wild bee hive on our property swarmed and I watched it throughout the day as they left the hive in controlled chaos, clustered on a nearby tree for a few hours and then in perfect timing they all took off to their new home.
Even though I hadn’t thought about that little installation in years, the bee swarm made me realize that it was time to make that installation of hundreds a reality. I’m not sure of the details, but I’m excited to make some abstract bugs that will swarm somewhere on the property. Inspiration comes from all kinds of places but somehow insects always hold a place in my heart!
