I create torsos to speak of my concerns of social and climatic upheaval. Female torsos also express my spiritual connection to nature. I am inspired by the beautiful Pacific Ocean and our local Cardiff Reef (San Diego, California). If I could stare long enough at the perfect spiral of a shell, I might merge with the consciousness that created that golden ratio. I have yearned for this connection my whole existence, and this connection has always felt both mysterious and essential. My search to connect with nature compels me to walk on the beach at sunrise, transferring that mysterious consciousness when I return to my ceramic studio. My sculpture series SHE-Sea Wisdom features ceramic female torsos that are detailed and encrusted with coral-inspired clay shapes. The body’s opalescent form speaks to the mystery of being, and deeply embedded coral patterns with real gold accents symbolizes nature’s preciousness.

I built my first ceramic torsos in 2014. I was in the process of changing my chosen medium of oil painting to sculpture through a BFA sculpture program at SFAI. The two oversized hand-built, coiled figures explored the concept of memory held within the body. The Body Memory Torsos were split to hide images of personal memories between the front and back sections. These memories are hidden from the viewer, until they make an effort to look between the sections to see the images. Carved texture and holes on the outer surface of the torso represent the lived experiences that may be embedded in our habitual body structure, or carried in our sinew and muscles. I painted layers of deep red glaze inside each form to represent vitality and life force

My work evolved when I changed the process from hand coiling each sculpture to building a model that I cast in multiple plaster molds. Now each individual torso sculpture starts as a ceramic slip-cast blank form comprised of six separate columns. I call this series of sculptures Story Torsos. 

Each ceramic Story Torso is individualized through hand-painted glaze images and surface texture of layered ceramic slip. The individual sculptures have their own narrative artwork that conveys multilayered messages. I research current events, Renaissance Women Master Artists, and my own images captured during beach walks. I choose to repaint (and modify) paintings from Renaissance Women Artists to bring their masterpieces to our awareness. I am constantly amazed that the issues/abuses they depicted in their artwork continue to be relevant in our contemporary times.

I am pulled by dichotomies of life, if I explore strength I also must reveal vulnerability or desire/aversion, extinction/restoration, etc. The struggle to reveal/hide is apparent in the sculpture’s design. The organic torso form contains hidden flat geometric surfaces within. I contrast red glossy glaze and gold luster details with matte oxide and underglaze hand-painted portrait narratives. Installing the torso’s six columns further apart allows the viewer to easily see the paintings on each of the torsos.