To Light a Candle is to Cast a Shadow

Pit Fired Ceramic
2022

This is a series of biomorphic pit fired planters. This series references process, ephemerality, the

unconscious, and our correspondence between the human body and the natural landscape. All of the works contain a negative space or hole which lend themselves to both abstracting the form while also suggesting eroded landscapes, the passage of time, and the effect people have on the natural world, and vice versa. The title is a quote from the Ursula Le Guin novel, A Wizard of Earthsea. In the book, a group of wizards are meant to maintain a fundamental balance in the universe and nature.

This concept of becoming aware of our impacts on the natural world is further explored in the process of pit firing itself. The artist used natural colorants to create the surface coloration and unique effects. During the firing, the clay becomes porous and soft, and when these items combust, they release a gas that gets absorbed by the clay. This process is rather unpredictable, which means that no two pit fired pieces will ever look exactly the same.