Fellowship Application
1977

The original hand-written document is shown below.

The thrust of my ceramic sculpture ideas provide a combination of abstract hollow built forms developed from both slab and coil base clay units; and naturalistic figure modeling. The sculptures are completely glazed.  My glaze application is intricate, utilizing many colored glazes which I have formulated myself. The sculptures range in size from 5 inches to over 6 feet tall.

The abstract surfaces are usually highly textured with embossed relief patterns suggesting: cloth, lace, alphabetical figures, numerals, organic material and cultural material combined to stimulate a visual narrative. Inorganic clay + glaze, thus, reflect organic growth + decay and provide the atmosphere for suggested figurative forms to emerge. I try to visually express that these figures are capable of hatching from the abstraction, or sprouting plant-like from the initial arrangement of clay slabs + coils.

Some form ideas were received and sold more easily than others, so I've leaned toward building the "more successful objects" in order to finance my ceramic sculpture career. For many years I've wanted the opportunity to explore large area, ceramic wall relief techniques which would incorporate my figurative motif, abstract patterns, and complex glaze work. The commitment of time necessary for building, as well as, financing this idea myself has slowed its conception considerably.

The Visual Arts Fellowship Program grant would help finance my research of the sculptural reliefs. I feel confident that markets for this type of work will develop quickly for myself and other ceramicists once some serious aesthetic reliefs appear, so that the "seeing is believing" public can enjoy them and understand possibilities.