Trilogy: Glass, Paper, Stoneware

A Washington, D.C. native, I began working in kiln-formed and lampworked glass in 2002 and have studied with many acclaimed glass artists in the US and Europe. In 2005 I established Trilogy Glass Art to explore and create both functional and non-functional glass art. In 2010, seeking the opportunity to teach kiln-formed glass, I joined the Art Glass Center at Glen Echo as a Resident Artist. I am also a member of the National Capital Art Glass Guild  (NCAGG) and served as a director of the guild for several years. I have a never-ending interest in the material properties of glass and spend much of  my time experimenting and exploring its behavior and possibilities in my Maryland studio.

I’ve been making things my entire life. The need to create and construct has driven me since I could first hold a pencil or a hammer.  Art has saved me, frustrated me, broken my heart and glued it back together again. 

I was born in Micronesia, where I spent an entire 10 days complete with double rainbows, near-miss hurricanes, the constant sound of waves and people who named me for their own.  My childhood in Ann Arbor, Michigan instilled in me a love of nature and a need to be outdoors as much as possible. I’ve lived in several cities across the U.S. in the time since, attending Houston’s HSPVA (and thus not just surviving High School but even, occasionally, relishing it) and earning my BFA at The School of the Art Institute of Chicago. 

After many relocations over the intervening years, I returned to Houston, drawn by my family and the incredibly diverse and empowering art community, and have built my home and studio here. 

Objects often transcend their functional roots to communicate with us through observation. My ceramic pieces are inspired by my travels and are the result of my response to those cultures and the environment.

I use a variety of stoneware and each type of clay comes with its unique personality and characteristics which allow me to respond to those properties. My interest in architecture, design and the Asian aesthetic are reflected in these hand-built, slab, and coil construction ceramic sculptures which are twice fired at about 2200 deg. F. The textured and patterned surfaces are the result of engraving, stamping, inlay and carving. Some pieces are burnished and gilded, while others have multiple applications of slips, stains and glazes. In my recent work I use mishima inlay, a centuries-old technique popularized in Korea. The form and surface of each piece are marked by my hand as well as the clay and the fire from the kiln.