Neither Poverty Nor Riches

Our anthropocentric world has been operating under the myth of progress. Since the Industrial Revolution and the advent of mass production, social structures have been oriented around the image of an exponential trajectory into the future. Certain agents have taken advantage of this rhetoric to wield power and wealth. In 2025, as we barrel into a strange new world determined by climate change, can we finally question the model? Why is it that all of nature moves in a closed cycle but humankind attempts to transcend and evade mortality? As I come of age and inherit a sense of responsibility and a world of chaos, I wonder how I ethically fit into the puzzle. As a craftsperson, what do I offer a world that is unraveling? I approach art making through my identity as a potter, a tradition tied to local roots, simple living, and honest work. My artwork follows the tradition of record keeping and storytelling on pottery and contains my preoccupation with justice. I use the urn form to offer a social critique and the lantern form to suggest theurgy, bringing physical form to values that cut through hopelessness. I believe the existence of the craft community challenges the authority of mass production and cultural homogeneity. Craft exists in conversation with the quotidian, setting the precedent that time and energy be spent slowly observing and refining, finding satisfaction in the simple gifts of life on Earth, undergirded by a respect for all existence.