My lighting work is created using colored, vitreous, translucent porcelain. Color is incorporated directly into the porcelain, enabling me to use the material for both two and three-dimensional expression. This material/technique allows for greater immediacy and a significant integration between form and surface. An additional, and, essential material characteristic—translucency—is also a core aesthetic issue. Light is incorporated directly into the work through the translucent character of the porcelain. Colors change, blend and oppose based on the visual response of each piece to its luminous environment. When the light source is internal—as with my recent luminous sculpture— the work not only responds to the environment, but also defines it by controlling interior light and shadow. These interactions are planned and essential to a full understanding and appreciation of the aesthetic content of the objects.
My luminous pieces derive intricately complex surfaces from the repeated presentation of essentially simple forms—leaves, petals, insects and reptiles. The complexity is heightened through the incorporation of light—drawing the viewer deeper into the surface through the actual presence of light and shadow. While the format in this new work is a departure, the essential aesthetic issues—light, color and pattern—remain.
