What did I come in here for? Each time I step into the ceramic studio, I have intentions of creating work that is important to me. But sometimes, the clay has its own agenda, and will take my work down a path I had not considered. My new work Cracks Let the Light In is the result of an unexpected conversation with the clay. I intended to create a beautiful large water fountain that includes a 24” basin. When the third basin I built cracked, as well as the many repair firings, it felt existential. I rarely experience cracking in my work…in fact, the last time a sculpture cracked extensively it was in 2020. (That’s another clay conversation.)

I felt a message that was insisting it be acknowledged. I believe many people are feeling unexpected cracking in their lives. Cracks in beliefs, cracks in understanding of reality, or cracking in our power to control our lives. I followed the conversation that the clay cracking began. What I came into the studio to do was challenged by the clay. I considered the message of cracking an unexpected lesson. Leonard Cohen’s song Anthem played in my mind. "There is a crack in everything. That's how the light gets in.”