I teach ceramics and sculpture. The focus is on learning the fundamental processes, skills, sequences of timing, and in material exploration to prepare oneself to be able to begin asking their own questions of the material as they explore their artistic voice.

Simple answer is that I love the material, its possibilities for exploration and developing ones voice materially, and I enjoy working with others who are on their journey.

My experience in the field is more than 20 years and includes working in diverse realms of the ceramics field and experience in numerous modes of producing work in the materials. I received my BFA in Ceramics from California State University Long Beach, MFA in Ceramics from UCLA, worked as a production potter, as fabricator, as studio assistant, and currently exhibit. I keep evolving in my practice and as an educator by constantly asking new questions of myself and the material. In this way, the work is never done, but always met with freshness.

My style of teaching is that of inquiry based methods of exploration while imparting the necessary understanding of the material. At the beginning levels we focus on fundamentals of process, skills, material, and an understanding of the technologies we work with. As we progress we begin asking questions to develop our own unique explorations of material, our own artistic voices, and the relation of the work to the larger context of art-making.

I strongly believe that a large part of coming to familiarize oneself with ceramics deals heavily with intuitive knowledge. While there are guideposts we can share to help one understand material, processes and technologies of the medium, the primary mode of understanding the material comes from hands on engagement with the material. This is one of the most exciting moments of teaching ceramics as I understand at this moment, someone is learning and developing something unique to themselves that exceeds the classroom.