Clay petal and floral sculptor based out of NYC
I witnessed the connection between flowers and well-being at a very early age, immersed in the thread-embroidered, glass-annealed, paper-sculpted and live planted gardens of my mother, father, aunt, grandmother and great grandmother. I absorbed this floral-health connection early on, quickly self-identifying with the petal form and all of its variations that have over the years become my personal building blocks of expression.
With degrees in both psychology and art, these floral creations are more than just pretty botanical riffs. They are heavily laden with context; works aim to illustrate the beauty found within each unique individual, as well as how those individuals coexist within the larger community initiating a dialogue of personal awareness within a larger social context. To this end, my primary artistic focus is on giving visual form to the typically unseen within us - our thoughts, contemplative processes, interpretations and reactions as humans, and to further delving into each of these in my sculptural compositions to visually dissect these processes in novel ways.
Since 2004 when I stumbled upon this specific clay medium, I have sculpted, painted, and arranged thousands of clay floral petals in sprawling wall-hung, suspended and free-standing structures. I begin with a hand-shaped petal I’ve pulled from a ball of clay and then continue sculpting more petals until I’ve built an entire rose, or instead, I pull, smash, roll, and stretch clay petals against a surface like brush strokes. No tools are used in the petal sculpting process except for my own two hands. There is a choreography and movement to my works. From flimsy, wilted petals to swaying, dancing blossoms, petals are combined to form letters or words or more often intentionally left in abstraction.
Many painting techniques are employed that include the use of watercolor, metallic alloys, acrylics, house paints and even magic marker. Projects actively incorporate a variety of disciplines including hand-sketching, welding, routing, sculpting, adhering, color bathing, spraying and fine-brush painting. Each completed work is then Dremel-cleaned and tweezed to create a finished composition that can be admired from afar but also welcomes up-close scrutiny. This rich variety of processes makes up my daily practice. One day I might be conceptualizing, drafting a work in colored pencil, another, I might be donning a full face mask shooting sparks into the air as I rout out an organic wire base for a piece. On yet another, I might be sculpting petal after petal, forming flower sculptures filling tray after tray that are then transferred to shelves on drying racks. Or I might be focused for 10 hours with watercolors and a tiny brush, painting individual petals in works that comprise thousands of them. It is this mix of activity that makes art-making a true privilege and a joy for me, for which I remain grateful daily.
