Dream Breathing

The work in this exhibition represents a suspension in time, being caught between states of being, and the threshold between knowing and unknowability. The work’s symbolism shifts and morphs between diverse interpretations. Ambiguous synchronicity puts the power into the viewers’ hands: they may enter the work from their own perspectives. Paradoxes resist collapsing into absolutes, and I find mystery to be one of the most compelling of human emotions.
Body and disembodiment move in my work through symbolism, material, and process. In the porcelain slip-dipped veils, the clay-laden fabric responds to gravity, referencing the natural forces our bodies are also subject to. Fabric acts as skin, a gentle weight, creating quiet reverie and emotional stillness. When the pieces are fired in the kiln, the fabrics are burned away, and the porcelain remains as preserved relic. Veils obscure but also draw attention through mystery.
Blue is elusive. As one of the rarest colors in concrete nature, it is also the hue we live under every day. But the sky’s blue is not touchable or graspable, nor can the blue of deep water be seen when we cup it in our hands. Observable, but not truly knowable. The distant landscape hazes with the blue of atmosphere, and even that escapes us when we arrive and it moves to another far-away view.
In the 2D works, warm orbs rise but also disintegrate, caught between physicality and ephemerality. Circles symbolize the infinite, but also singular wholeness. Their consistent mathematical formulation utilizes pi, bringing in further references to impossibility and the transcendent. Simultaneously, the gold ceramic orbs provide a physical counterpart, simultaneously symbolizing soul as precious entity and a desire for solidity.
Some works in the exhibition are reflections of recent spiritual practices centered around hope, healing, and appreciation for stability. The arc of the sun brings physical warmth and regenerative energy; it carries illness back over the horizon as it sets. A daily meditation of ringing bells focuses on the cardinal directions: north/south for stability and ancestral guidance and east/west for physical healing and internal improvement. These rituals create comfort amid uncertainty.
The title of the exhibition, “Dream Breathing,” references a sleep stage where the vital sign of sleeping respiratory rate cannot be tracked accurately. Because dreaming alters breathing patterns, this sleep stage suspends this critical responsibility involved in caretaking and allows for simple appreciation of a life still present. As sleep is deeply healing and restorative, “Dream Breathing” likewise captures gratitude and hope. 

Image: Passage Cyanotype, Watercolor, White Charcoal 24” x 18” 2025