I am interested in the contrast between the modern and the ancient, the organic and the synthetic, and the psychological and physical challenge to translate ideas into clay. I hope to communicate that which surrounds me, both physically and mystically–from earth, gardens, and man-made forms to archetypal symbols and theories. Many of these new works are inspired by mandorlas (Italian for almond). The form refers to a shape used in religious art as the large oval behind the representation of a single sacred figure. It is the shape created by overlapping two circles and is seen in spiritual terms as the overlap between heaven and earth, or dark and light. It is the space that contains the conflict of opposites. The abstract figures in my work are represented as shadows. They are at times the sculptural form itself, and at other times the portal where the figure has been transformed within the mandorla. For years I have been interested in psychoanalyst Carl Jung’s notion of the “Shadow.” He describes the shadow as the place between the conscience and subconscious, or good and evil. Jung also believed that for humans “the shadow is the seat of creativity.”