This body of work, titled Renegades, began with my interest in the vessel and the relationship between the functional and the non-functional. To me the vessel is a symbolic and metaphorical reference to the human body, not just an object with a designated purpose. Although I initially came from a practical ceramics background, my work is now exclusively rendered in fabricated steel and bronze and has lost its practical applications while maintaining an implied functional form. During my time working with ceramics I developed an interesting relationship with the idea of creating receptacles suited for utilitarian purposes; I loved the idea of the vessel and the potential of the form to relate to the human body but I hated the expectation of functionality.
Currently my visual language revolves around an assembly of techniques where I record my material process within a highly decorated and developed surface while leaving the interior unadorned and empty. While the utilitarian application of the vessel has been removed the memory of functionality remains facilitating an atypical relationship between viewer and object. Some may interpret my process of creating useless containers a direct contradiction to the implied purpose of the vessel but I would argue the opposite. Leaving the interior empty and without purpose, I am directing the viewer to consider the potential of the vessel while removing preconceived notions of usefulness.