As an artist, I am inspired by the vulnerability of the human condition: the tenuousness of our individual as well as collective presence in this world, the choices we make and their impact, the degree of control we do or do not exercise, the connections we have to each other and to the larger world around us. The peril as well as the heroism present in even the most mundane human activities, compel my admiration even when I am most appalled by our behavior as a species.

For several years, I have been striving to recreate the fierce beauties in this ongoing conceptual tools. My method of working is often driven by specific materials that resonate with particular ideas or emotion, and thus my styling, scale, and specificity can vary widely with each show. Within a disparate framework, some formal constants do emerge: a dramatic or theatrical approach to the narrative form, a dedication to figurative object-making, and a deep commitment to physical beauty  – for its own aesthetic sake as 
well as a means of securing emotional investment from the viewer. It is reinterpretation and transmutation of my own experiences into those of the viewer that brings me my greatest satisfaction.
2/05:“Passing Through”, mixed-media installation, Gallery 3, San Jose State, San Jose, CA.
       

2/03: “Baked in a Pie”, mixed-media installation, Gallery 2, San Jose State University, San Jose, CA.

11/01: “With Wings and a Prayer”, clay and mixed-media sculpture, Isabel Percy West Gallery, CCAC, Oakland, Ca.

10/00: “Plays Well With Others”, clay and bronze sculpture, CCAC Center Gallery, CCAC, Oakland, CA.

Group Exhibitions:         

4/05 – 5/05: San Jose State Invitational
4/04 – 5/04: San Jose State Invitational
5/03 – 5/04: San Jose State Invitational
(jurors: Stan Welsh and Monica Van den Dool), California Conference for the Advancement of Ceramic Art, Davis, CA.

5/04: Marin Society of Artists National Juried Exhibition 2004, (juror: Richard Shaw), Marin Society of Artists, Ross, CA. 
Catalog.

1/04 – 2/04: Viewpoint: Ceramics 2004 (juror: Leslie Ferrin)
Hyde Art Gallery, Grossmont College, El Cajon, CA.

9/03 – 11/03: Global Artlook International Exhibition 2003,
(jurors: Yoshio Taylor, Scott Shields), MatrixArts, Sacramento, CA.

6/03 – 7/03: Visions in Clay: 2003 (jurors: John Toki, Suzanne Baizerman),
Richard and Marjorie Reynolds Gallery, University of the Pacific, Stockton, CA.

5/02: CCAC BFA Graduate Exhibition
East Gallery, CCAC, San Francisco; Oliver Art Gallery, CCAC, Oakland, CA.

2/01; 12/00; 4/00: CCAC Ceramics Guild Exhibitions (jurors: Peter St. Lawrence, Sharalyn Lawrence, Jenna Hyman)
Center Gallery, CCAC, Oakland, Ca.                   

11/99: “Not An  Ordinary Doll Show” (juror: Peter St. Lawrence)
Isabel Percy West Gallery, CCAC, Oakland, CA.

1/99: CCAC Ceramics Guild Exhibition (jurors: John Toki and Greg Roberts)
John Toki Gallery, Berkeley, CA.

9/99: CCAC New Student Invitational Show
Center Gallery, CCAC, Oakland, CA.

4/99 – 5/99: Annual Laney Student Art Exhibition
4/98 – 5/98: Annual Laney Student Art Exhibition
(jurors: Charles Chavez, David Bradford, Carol Joy, Sherry Karver, Andree Singer Thompson),
Steingart Gallery, Laney College, Oakland, CA.

Publications:         

American Art Collector, Western States, Alcove Books, 2006. Full-page photo, p. 194
American Art Collector, Western States, Alcove Books, 2005. Full-page photo, p. 197
American Art Collector, Western States, Alcove Books, 2004. Full-page photo, p. 118.

arc ca: California Journal of the American Institute of Architects, January, 2002.
Essay, interview and photo in “Perspectives: Looking in From the Outside”, pp. 28-30.

California English Magazine, June 2001. Featured Artist; cover + 8 photos.

Make It In Clay, 2nd edition, c. 2000, Charlotte F. Speight, John Toki , pp. 85 – 87.

Education:                      

M.F.A degree in Spatial Arts, San Jose State University, San Jose, CA.

B.F.A. degree in Ceramics, with Distinction, awarded 12/01, California College of Arts and Crafts (now California College 
of the Arts), Oakland, CA.

Laney College, Oakland, CA 9/97 – 5/99. Fine Arts major. Dean’s List.

Jewelry Design certification awarded 11/75. Gemological Institute of America, CA.

Teaching:                

Teaching Associate (teacher of record): Introduction to Ceramics, Fall 2003; Spring 2004,
San Jose State University, College of Art & Design.

Teaching Assistant: Introduction to Ceramics, Fall 2003 (with Monica Van den Dool),
Spring 2003 (with Stan Welsh).
3-D Design                    Fall 2002 (with Shannon Wright).

Scholarships:         

Elizabeth Heil Ceramic Scholarship, SJSU, Spring, 2004
Robert Fritz Glass Scholarship, SJSU, Spring, 2004
Shoji Sadanori Glass Scholarship, SJSU, Spring, 2004
Elizabeth Heil Ceramic Scholarship, SJSU, Spring, 2003
Trustees’ Scholarship, CCAC, Fall 2001
Art Nelson Ceramics Scholarship, CCAC, Fall, 2000
Faculty Merit Scholarship, CCAC, Fall, 1999