CLAY MAPS
Life's Journeys from a Bird's Eye View

                                           

                                                     Why clay? Why maps?

 

I have been a professional artist since college; my work includes pottery, tile,

sculpture, drawing and mosaics….clay and glaze have always been central. Firing

clay and glaze creates a unique surface, evoking natural surfaces, promoting rich textures and varying depths of color and layers.   Drawing on clay is a great way

to express what I wanted to say with my maps.

 

But ….why maps? I have always loved maps….road maps, antique maps,

imaginative maps….but an experience I had with GPS crystallized for me the

way I experience the world visually. An old friend had moved from the part of

LA that she had lived in for years to a different area. For my first visit there, I put

her new address into my GPS, followed the directions and arrived at my destination

but I felt very anxious and uncomfortable because I didn’t know where I was!

I couldn’t place myself on the mental map I carried around in my head, always

viewing myself and my location from a “bird’s eye view.” I was in unknown territory

or as the ancient  Chinese often wrote on the edges of their maps, ”Where There Be Dragons”….all the places they hadn’t explored or located or “mapped.” I started recreating these mental pictures with drawing, painting, scratching, impressing and otherwise using clay and glaze to make maps.