Ideas of classic form have existed in all cultures. For tens of thousands of years, human beings have reproduced lines and shapes that are remarkably similar, and considered them mysteriously satisfying. Recently, such things have been analyzed as actually being part of our neurological structure. The cave paintings of Altamira and Lascaux, Neolithic pottery of every continent, the statuary and architecture of ancient civilizations, even the form-dissolution and reconstitution of modern abstract expressionism – all of these depend on, and search for, some transcendent (or neurologically hard-wired) Platonic Idea of formal beauty. Art that cuts itself off from that transcendent and yet intrinsically human urge becomes sterile and anomic. Novelty may excite momentarily, but the classical always returns – and is generally appreciated all along by people who are outside the loop of critical trends.
My own artistic background is familial. I come from a locally-respected lineage of “lady painters,” art teachers, patrons, and collectors on Maui, Hawaii. As a child I was surrounded by art, and the regular making of art. My influences were equally European and Asian, with a goodly dose of Pacific Island. I grew up thinking that art was a normal part of life.
I first studied ceramics with Claude Horan, founder of the ceramics department at the University of Hawaii. Though primarily an abstract-expressionist-influenced potter and sculptor, he grounded me in a fine sense of form and the arts-and-crafts philosophy of the English potter Bernard Leach. Ever since then I’ve worked to perfect an expression of classicism with functional pottery featuring simple designs and natural materials. Brushed slip, celadons, and iron and ash glazes have a muted quality that complement a clean, fine line – a swelling vase or a welcoming bowl.
I’ve worked on my own in Haiku, Hawaii; Portland, Oregon; and now Shoreline, Washington. I’ve shown in Ashland and Portland, Oregon, and in Seattle. I was a resident artist at Pottery Northwest in 2005-6. In December 2005, my work was featured in Ceramics Monthly magazine.
