Some of my sigil tiles sprouted wings—so naturally, the paintings had to follow. In this post, I share how clay sketches began transforming into small oil paintings, carrying the Eye of Providence and other symbols into dreamlike new forms.
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The sigil, Peace, because presence begins with a benevolent gaze. Part of the ongoing Sigil series, 2025.
"Why All the Eyes?" The Eye of Providence and its Meaning
Why do I sculpt so many eyes into my work? It’s a question I get asked a lot—sometimes nervously. The answer has more to do with protection, presence, and ancient symbolism than you might expect...
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A ceramic frame which will eventually have a drawing in the inner space.
More ideas for sigils...
What has become pretty clear to me is this: Artists who use their work or others’ work to train an AI to spit out images for them to paint are completely missing the real value of what they potentially could get from working with an AI assistant.
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A few sigil tiles, 6” x 6”. Clockwise from top left: abundance, sanctuary, protection, and love. I’m still trying to figure out how to achieve the feeling of each intention….
Current new work: 25 March-- Sigil Tiles
Some time ago, my friend, Marian, asked me to make a sigil tile for her. What the heck was that? I thought. A sigil, or “seal” is a magical symbol of a desired outcome based on a word.
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Current New Work: March 2025
I’ll be attempting to provide you with shorter blog posts more frequently— once or twice a week — to fill you in on what’s happening in my studio.
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My 10-minute chalk doodle in the lobby of Marketview Arts, York PA. 2023.
On Creativity
Recently, I downloaded the ChatGPT app to see what all the fuss was about and I was pleasantly surprised at how immediately the AI made itself useful…
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Slow Down, You Move Too Fast, 8” x 10”; 2023. Colored pencil and graphite. Remember that irrepressibly upbeat 60s song, “Feelin’ Groovy” by the band, Harper’s Bizarre? Aw yeah, baby.
Congruence
Recently, I sold this little piece and was quite happy to hear that the buyer was someone who was familiar with my ceramics (they have a handful of monsterpots) but was totally unfamiliar with my drawings and paintings…
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Bob Ross superimposed over his painting, Oak On a Clear Day.
Separating the Art from the Artist
Can we separate the artist from their output? Can we value the genius of an artist’s ouvre if the artist is a jerk? Conversely, if the artist is a genuinely stellar human being but their work is sort of meh, will their art be as memorable and legacy-worthy? I think this question merits real analysis because I think it sheds a lot of light on how art is consumed by the public. It’s always said that people don’t buy art, they’re buying the artist. But why?
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“Family crest” stamps for a couple to be married in Ecuador. These will be used by a potter there to create a set of platters and cups for their household. 2023. These were sculpted or carved into terra cotta clay and then fired for hardness so they can be used again and again.
Pottery stamps and press molds
One of the challenges I faced while making ceramics over the past several years is how to re-create something as it was the first time. Someone will say— “Oooh, I love that!” and want the same thing. This is where molds and stamps come in handy….
Read MoreConGlomeration Art Awards
Making the award sculptures for ConGlomeration’s Art Show was a fantastic time. Being given carte blanche meant I could just have a blast imagining anything at all…
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A giant ram’s head mushroom, Grifola frondosa, or maitake.
Trusting Yourself
While art-making isn’t as high stakes as eating a wild mushroom, sometimes it can feel just as terrifying to “trust the process” when you don’t have a clue where your work is going or how you’ll get it where you want it to be.
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On Collaboration
Art collaborations are quite interesting. There’s Warhol & Basquiat, Dali & Buñuel, Björk & Barney, and the list goes on. Artists work together to stretch their abilities and techniques, and to gain important feedback about their work. In a collaborative visual artwork, you’re also “listening” to what the other artist is creating …
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We have been stewards of this dear log house for 20 years.
The Log House
Laura Ingalls’ book and series, Little House on the Prairie, about her life as a pioneer, was an incredibly influential bit of literature for me in an important time in my life. Few books had such a lasting effect on me as this one did.
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The Banshees of Inisherin considers what is the spirit of Ireland and how civil war breaks so much.
Legacy
We sometimes hear people referring to their children and family surname as their “legacy” and this is an oft heralded achievement. But when artists use that word, legacy, it’s suspect. Is it because we’re not dead yet? Because we haven’t yet finished the work? Perhaps legacy is…
Read MoreLetterlocked
What is letterlocking? It's the old practice of sewing and sealing your letter with wax to create an “envelope” to ensure that the letter hasn’t been read and that it hasn’t been tampered with. In 2022, unopened letters from Mary Queen of Scots surfaced and were unsealed by historians. The banished rival of Queen Elizabeth I used a “dagger”…
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My painting, Natural History, 1999, oil on canvas.
Commitment
In 2023, my keyword is commitment. It’s not a very flashy word inspiring a lot of boldness or risk, but one that speaks of quiet grit. It’s a word that really describes what I feel is an appropriate focal point for my current thought.
You see, I know what burn-out is….
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What jobs taught me as a young person
I started working on weekends and summers when I turned 14. My very first job was cleaning hotel rooms. The cigarette smoke and weird smells of the aerosol cleaners weren’t a great combination (and people can be really gross), but I could walk to work and…
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Hanging in my current studio is one of the oldest gargoyles I’d ever made (1996?). Dark brown and lovely, Della Robbia clay is an “air dry” clay that can be heated in a kitchen oven to obtain a certain hardness but it would still dissolve in water.
Gargoyles
Sometime in the mid-90s, I had the opportunity to visit Harlan Ellison and his wife Susan at their home in Thousand Oaks, CA, and what I remember most was the gargoyles they had hanging over the garage entrance. When I got home, I just had to try making some of my own….
Read MoreMoonpots
“Moonpots” are my variation on the 1000-year-old Yixing tradition of making lidded teapots. The Jiangsu region boasts a unique purple sand clay which the artisans use to produce beautifully hued ware, but it’s the method and precision of the construction of the pots which first grabbed my attention when I became aware of this tradition.
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How I avoid getting lost on the Internet
Okay, so this blog post is a little off the beaten art path, but I had a conversation with someone today which made me realize that I use a specific strategy…
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