My current investigations in clay are a direct relation to my own daily rituals. A handmade mug for coffee in the morning, a tumbler for water throughout the day, and a voluminous tea bowl for tea in the evening. As vessel maker these utilitarian objects keep me excitedly making to find my next favorite one in a series. I believe the more voluptuous the form the better for both containment and consumption. I create these larger forms to give me a grander surface to address with my surface decoration. These blank canvases lined up on my table beacon to be attended. Inspired by abstract expressionist paintings of the 1950’s and 60’s I lay my colors out in front of meworking intuitively across several pieces at a time. Using underglazes as paint I layer washes of color to build a history of mark making on the surface. After several of these layers are built up I use a sgrafitto tool to carve back through the slip and reveal small lines of the dark clay body. After glazing I brush each one with a thin coat of lithium wash in certain areas to reveal more through the layers of slip and underglaze. When finished I send them out into the world for someone else’s daily ritual to experience.