Sustained Investigation

The central idea

My sustained investigation is about bringing natural elements into my ceramic work. Things like growth, decay, rocks, and plant forms. I want my pieces to feel connected to the natural world rather than separate from it. I'm looking at both form and surface texture, asking how organic shapes can change what a functional object feels like. The work combines wheel throwing, handbuilding, and additive techniques to merge clean ceramic forms with raw natural elements like roots, branches, and flowers.

Each piece takes a different approach to the same question. The Tentacle Cup attaches root-like appendages to a wheel-thrown vessel, putting a clean symmetrical form against raw gestural organic shapes. The Branch Vessel does the opposite, with branches reaching up from the rim to suggest growth and movement. In the figural bust, a flower emerges from the shoulder, using the human body as a place where nature enters. Across the pieces, the contrast between refined throwing and rough handbuilding creates a tension between what is man-made and what is natural. That tension is what the investigation is really about. The goal has been to move away from surface decoration and toward making nature part of the actual structure of the work.