My figure sculptures were born from my love of illustration. I strive to make each figure express an emotion either through the curve of a mouth or the glint of an eye. Each figure is individually sculpted of kiln fired paper clay, and though they are not direct portraits they do hint at people I have known. My sculptures are created in small bits of time. I am attracted to gesture drawing and consider each to be a small sketch in clay. I believe my process adds to the feeling of an illustration. I see a detail in the clay that I will pull out to form a mouth or a nose then I build the face from there. Each is a unique sculpture, formed completely in the moment. I bisque fire my sculptures multiple times to layer underglazes. I am trying to achieve a feeling of watercolor and ink drawings with each piece. I will do a fine firing to cone 6 in an electric kiln.