Artist Statement

I explore the joy of inheriting the legacy of a 150-year-old heritage family farm and historical Scandinavian folk traditions. I reconnect with my past apart from the stories told by a tight-knit family steeped in tradition, dogma, and expectations of conformity by researching Norwegian decorative folk arts from the 1700's and historical objects from the Viking-age. My forms echo the rich practice of working the land: soft-formed, curving clay walls reminiscent of rolling hills, carved ridges like plow-scraped fields, meet gentle, undulating wave-like rims. Working with my body is a sacred experience. My feet propel the kick wheel, capturing the slow, rhythmic movement of my legs juxtaposed by the sharp vertical textures in the form. I celebrate the qualities of touch found in everyday common experiences. As I toil with my hands in the clay, I contemplate my ancestors laboring with their hands in the earth, wood, stone, and bone.