I quickly realized, during the current global pandemic, that much of my motivation for creative work comes from being around others. This realization led to very limited creative output during the last couple of years. Much of this was due to the isolation of the pandemic and dealing with personal events that have influenced, I just didn’t feel motivated. It was really tough and I know that many others also felt and feel this way. To fight this, once I felt comfortable enough I quickly planned ways to safely get out and make work.
My first venture out into the world was with the Hampton County Arts Council in Hampton, South Carolina. I was invited to be an artist-in-residence and conduct a two-day workshop on coil building, in the Summer of 2021. The time there was amazing and sparked many questions for me about material and the communities around the region. I plan on going back to Hampton and also working with the Arts Council on future projects.
Toward the second half of the summer, Valarie Zimany and Daniel Bare invited me to spend some time as a visiting artist at Clemson University. I spent two weeks creating a wide variety of work including sculptural wall hangings as trophies for a disc golf tournament, electric fired cups, and a good amount of work for a future woodfiring. I have participated in a few woodfirings at Clemson and always have a wonderful time. Those firings are something that I look forward to every year and am so glad that there is potential for them to resume.