I like to work with natural materials and imagery and put a lot of value into relationships in opposition to the modern trend of reducing everything down to its simplest, most abstracted and disconnected form, particularly with how aggressively things are being pushed toward reliance on machine image generation and language models as a surrogate for creativity. I think that all meaning is in the interconnectedness that capitalism would deem frivolous and inefficient. To me, the specific pigment I get with an Oregon grape dye is more beautiful for my relationship with it, more meaningful because we were born and grew on the same soil. My greatest inspiration comes from reflecting what's around me in the parts of myself that I transform into a ceramic or fiber piece. And I want my work to inspire people to value their unique identity and relationship with the world around them. I like to sculpt with clay that I find on my hikes and use river rocks for burnishing, feathers I find and collect from my quail's sheds for raku, and the shapes of the plants and fungi I see out in nature. I like to work with what comes to me instead of going out looking, whenever I can, and I like to embrace and highlight the messy imperfection of living in the art that I make.