logo   Black Cat Pottery  
  Monkton, Maryland  
 
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Why do you do this??
In our micro waved world, every moment has been subdivided into sixty billion nanoseconds, and the average Wal-Mart shopper believes that art is something to be viewed – but not touched - in a museum. Mass produced machine made products are delivered to mass market consumers with emphasis on shipping durability and economies of scale, and somewhere along the way the ability to relate to functional objects hand crafted by other human beings is lost, and the void left behind takes up residence in our souls.
working together Much like live music and home cooking, hand crafted utilitarian ware provides an opportunity to introduce integrity and beauty to our daily routines. The curves and lines that are defined by interaction with the human hand and the human body differ greatly from the curves and lines that are dictated by a mechanized need for sterile consistency and soulless mass production efficiency, and the aesthetic decisions made by the human mind differ greatly from the digital decisions dictated by programmed schematics.
My work is an attempt to recapture the human element in our daily lives. There is no higher glory than joyfully fulfilling the most basic needs. A mug to drink from or a platter to serve from – if formed and offered without pretense - become intimate elements of our daily existence. The sense of touch can convey a greater sense of beauty than the eye – or even the ear – and it exposes even the slightest disharmony. Achieving a balance of strength, grace, utility, and beauty is not a simple undertaking, but it is my aspiration.