Technique & Process: For this series, I used a cone 6 sculptural clay body recipe. The clay was formulated to be strong with low shrinkage, providing a solid foundation for my hand-built sculptures. Each stack in this series required approximately 250-300 lbs of wet clay, which equates to about one clay mixer load per sculpture. To aid in the construction process, I used wooden dollies that allowed me to move the work around as they were being built.

I start my sculptures by making thick slabs and texturing them. The slabs are allowed to firm up slightly before I begin working, ensuring that they maintain their shape and texture throughout the construction process. Each sculpture consists of 6-9 parts that were built separately, but on top of each other. They dried together in the stack to ensure that they would fit together properly after firing.

The color palette for this series was inspired by the woodsy area of my parents' home in northern Wisconsin. The texture and color of the sculptures are reminiscent of red oak tree bark. Instead of using a glaze, I chose to use a manganese dioxide stain to achieve the dark, earthy brown finish.