What If You Had Never Seen a Starfish?

2018

What If You Had Never Seen a Starfish?. 2018, ceramic stoneware, oxide, underglazes, various sizes.

Culminated Forms of Fictional Genetics (or, Agatha), 2018, ceramic stoneware, black iron oxide, underglazes, epoxy, gouache, 9.5”x18.5”x16.5”, Private Collection
Culminated Forms of Fictional Genetics (or, Agatha), 2018, ceramic stoneware, black iron oxide, underglazes, epoxy, gouache, 9.5”x18.5”x16.5”, Private Collection
Culminated Forms of Fictional Genetics (or, Agatha), 2018, ceramic stoneware, black iron oxide, underglazes, epoxy, gouache, 9.5”x18.5”x16.5”, Private Collection
Culminated Forms of Fictional Genetics (or, Agatha), 2018, ceramic stoneware, black iron oxide, underglazes, epoxy, gouache, 9.5”x18.5”x16.5”, Private Collection
Vincent, 2018, ceramic stoneware, black iron oxide, underglazes, 3.5”x3.5”x2.5”, SOLD
Vincent, 2018, ceramic stoneware, black iron oxide, underglazes, 3.5”x3.5”x2.5”, SOLD
Wayne, 2018, ceramic stoneware, black iron oxide, underglazes, 3”x3.75”x4”, SOLD
Wayne, 2018, ceramic stoneware, black iron oxide, underglazes, 3”x3.75”x4”, SOLD
microCamelid, 2018, ceramic stoneware, black iron oxide, underglazes, 5.5”x5.25”x3.75”, SOLD
microCamelid, 2018, ceramic stoneware, black iron oxide, underglazes, 5.5”x5.25”x3.75”, SOLD
Bipedal Mollusk, 2018, ceramic stoneware, black iron oxide, underglazes, epoxy, 3.5”x7.5”x5.5”, SOLD
Bipedal Mollusk, 2018, ceramic stoneware, black iron oxide, underglazes, epoxy, 3.5”x7.5”x5.5”, SOLD
The Dying Gaul, 2018, ceramic stoneware, black iron oxide, underglazes, 2.5”x8.5”x7”, Under "Store to Own" Contract
The Dying Gaul, 2018, ceramic stoneware, black iron oxide, underglazes, 2.5”x8.5”x7”, Under "Store to Own" Contract
Albert, the Heir, 2018, ceramic stoneware, black iron oxide, underglazes, gouache, 5.75”x10.5”x8”, $400
Albert, the Heir, 2018, ceramic stoneware, black iron oxide, underglazes, gouache, 5.75”x10.5”x8”, $400
Albert, the Heir, 2018, ceramic stoneware, black iron oxide, underglazes, gouache, 5.75”x10.5”x8”, $400
Albert, the Heir, 2018, ceramic stoneware, black iron oxide, underglazes, gouache, 5.75”x10.5”x8”, $400
Embryonic Cactoid, 2018, ceramic stoneware, black iron oxide, underglazes, 1”x2.25”x3”, SOLD
Embryonic Cactoid, 2018, ceramic stoneware, black iron oxide, underglazes, 1”x2.25”x3”, SOLD
Specimen 11, 2018, ceramic stoneware, black iron oxide, underglazes, 11.25”x13”x12.5”, SOLD
Specimen 11, 2018, ceramic stoneware, black iron oxide, underglazes, 11.25”x13”x12.5”, SOLD
Specimen 11, 2018, ceramic stoneware, black iron oxide, underglazes, 11.25”x13”x12.5”, SOLD
Specimen 11, 2018, ceramic stoneware, black iron oxide, underglazes, 11.25”x13”x12.5”, SOLD
Bertha, the Matriarch, 2018, ceramic stoneware, black iron oxide, underglazes, epoxy, gouache, plaster of paris, iron pipe, pvc, 33”x28”x19”, Under "Store to Own" Contract
Bertha, the Matriarch, 2018, ceramic stoneware, black iron oxide, underglazes, epoxy, gouache, plaster of paris, iron pipe, pvc, 33”x28”x19”, Under "Store to Own" Contract
Bertha, the Matriarch, 2018, ceramic stoneware, black iron oxide, underglazes, epoxy, gouache, plaster of paris, iron pipe, pvc, 33”x28”x19”, Under "Store to Own" Contract
Bertha, the Matriarch, 2018, ceramic stoneware, black iron oxide, underglazes, epoxy, gouache, plaster of paris, iron pipe, pvc, 33”x28”x19”, Under "Store to Own" Contract
Bertha, the Matriarch, 2018, ceramic stoneware, black iron oxide, underglazes, epoxy, gouache, plaster of paris, iron pipe, pvc, 33”x28”x19”, Under "Store to Own" Contract
Bertha, the Matriarch, 2018, ceramic stoneware, black iron oxide, underglazes, epoxy, gouache, plaster of paris, iron pipe, pvc, 33”x28”x19”, Under "Store to Own" Contract
A series of eleven sculptures created for my undergraduate thesis in 2018. This series launched my artistic career conceptually, giving birth to the biomorphic, pop-surrealist imagery that I am still exploring today.
Imagine with me that you had grown up all of your life and never seen a starfish before.  Then one day in walks your friend with a starfish, insisting that this lumpy little mass of arms is a living thing.  Would you believe them?  Would you think they were joking?  Would you think it was a plant or an animal?  Fungus or mineral?  Terrestrial or extraterrestrial?  Friendly or dangerous?  
How do we encounter an unknown thing?  How do we empathize with an alien organism?  Do we reject it, or do we give it room to breathe?  Do we step on it right away, or do we let it shamble about on its multitude of tentacles, allowing it to introduce itself to us and us to it?  It takes confidence and bravery to engage in each others’ mysteries.  Do we take that risk?  Do we give the starfish a chance?