In the work to pause, clay and glaze were used to create a concrete image interpreting energy that resonates between people. This energy is abstract and organic resulting in gestures that can’t be captured. The inherent qualities of clay and a self-glazing body were used to move large amounts of material to describe an accumulation of energy frozen in a state. Each sculpture is an image of two overall gestures with one made of a dry, stoneware clay body and the other a fluid, self-glazing body. Similar to geological forces such as volcanic lava, this energy suddenly appears and that time is alive for a brief moment. These two materials are attempting to hold on to each other, as they are arriving in a state of form and formlessness, pausing for a moment as if they were one. Through use of the kiln and temperature, the two are suspended in this state. During the firing process, these materials move and drip naturally by ways of time, gravity, and temperature, eventually melting and collapsing in a lengthy firing. In this work, I have tried to express an ephemeral moment through a physical form.

The self-glazing body is both clay and a glass. When drying, its soluble salts from within rise allowing for crystal growth on the surface creating a glaze upon itself. Glaze was used in this manner, because of the relationships between clay and glaze as separate materials rather than its use as a surface decoration. Each embodies its own presence in mass bringing to mind a human quality. These two materials interact together chemically and physically affecting each other throughout the making process. During that time, the self-glazing body begins to take on a life of its own as it comes into contact with the natural elements of the environment limiting my control over it.