About

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My ceramic vessels and figurative sculptures are vehicles to investigate our human emotions and psyche. I view my role as an artist as an act of service and wonder how my work can best serve others. In contemporary America, I see many people disconnected from their emotional and physical well being due to the many prevalent consequences of chronic stress and trauma. My work’s intention is to encourage emotional healing by sharing the lived experiences of others and through meditative interactions.  

I make sculptural relief portraits to tell stories of those on the path to liberate themselves from mental prisons of childhood and adult traumas. Life-size portraits are paired with an animal (either real or mythological) establishing a duality. This creates a face to face conversation between the viewer and portraits as well as a symbiotic relationship with the creatures — representing a reconnection to a transformed and authentic self.   

My drinking and pouring forms, such as teapots and cups, help establish a relationship with my audience through sensory experience. In a guided class or alone, participants in my tea rituals are asked to notice little things about their cup, which most of the time are overlooked, such as surface, texture, weight, and temperature change as the beverage is being poured and sipped, smelled, and appr­­eciated. This gives participants the opportunity to cultivate an awareness of the vessel, thus elevating tactile, visual, and olfactory perceptions.    

My vessels and sculptures evoke raw emotions through their colorful yet earthy surfaces and a sense of motion, flow, energy, and torsion through fluid mark making. With my pottery, I apply abstract textural marks with liquid clay to the forms. However, I carve into my sculptures resulting in recessed gestural lines.   

Clay offers me an opportunity to share my truth and concern for my fellow humans. It is my desire through my ceramics to share the inspiring and healing journeys of others and educate people about introspective mindful rituals.

Education 

2020  

Kansas City Art Institute (KCAI), Kansas City, Missouri

Bachelor of Fine Arts with an emphasis in Ceramics, Minor in Entrepreneurial Studies in Art and Design, 

and Certificate in Asian Studies

Professional Experience

2022 

Consignment Gallery, Wildfire Ceramic Studio, Missoula, Montana 

2021-present 

Ceramic Instructor, White Bear Center for the Arts, White Bear Lake, Minnesota

Ceramic Instructor, The Workshop Mpls, Minneapolis, Minnesota

Emerging Artist Residency, Northern Clay Center, Minneapolis, Minnesota

2021

Ceramic Instructor, 323 Clay, Kansas City, Missouri

3801 Studio, Katherine Harter, Kansas City, Missouri

+ Private Ceramics Studio

2020 

Studio Assistant, Jean Schmitt, Kansas City, Missouri

+ Porcelain sculpture production

2019  

Mindful Tea Mediation, Erik Hulse, Midwest Alliance for Mindfulness, Kansas City, Missouri

+  Designed and produced tea bowls to take part in a meditation class for people to interact and meditate

Clay Sculpture: Large Scale Systems, two-week workshop led by Matt Wedel, 

Anderson Ranch Arts Center, Snowmass Village, Colorado

End of Semester Exhibition Planning Committee, Stern Ceramic Building, 

Kansas City Art Institute, Kansas City, Missouri

Children’s Mercy Hospital Burn Unit, Kansas City, Missouri 

+  Collaboration between Children’s Mercy Hospital and KCAI’s Rapid Prototyping class to develop a better methodology to teach burn identification and treatment to nurses, firefighters, and paramedics

Studio Internship and Assistant, Melanie Sherman, Ceramic Artist, Kansas City, Missouri

+  Assisted and gained knowledge of mold making

Studio Assistant, Linda Lighton, Ceramic Artist, Kansas City, Missouri

+  Assisted with planning and assembling large scale ceramic projects 

2018-2020         

First Year Experience Leader, Kansas City Art Institute, Kansas City, Missouri

+  Mentor freshman foundation students to create an environment for fostering trust and cooperation to build a better sense of community and facilitate workshops on various subjects such as time management and critical thinking skills  

2016

Tile Workshop, five-week workshop led by Richard Notkin, Kansas City Art Institute, Kansas City, Missouri

Leadership, Service, and Extracurricular Activities

2021

Volunteer, Belger Crane Yard Studios, Kansas City, Missouri

+ Assisted with kiln loading, exhibition installation, and class room support

2017-2019  

President, Asian Culture Organization, Kansas City Art Institute, Kansas City, Missouri

+  Creating a space for students interested in Asian culture from traditions to art to pop culture

+  Resource to inform the KCAI community through events and art

Student Leadership Team, Kansas City Art Institute, Kansas City, Missouri

+  Create dialogue between student body and faculty to better campus life and student needs

2017 

Youth Leader, Youth Leadership Development, University of Missouri-Kansas City 

(UMKC), Kansas City, Missouri

+  Assist with the development of a youth leadership program

2014-present 

Student, Kung Fu, Kansas City, Missouri

+  Studying traditional Chinese Wudang Taoist Kung Fu: Xingyiquan, Taijiquan, and Baguazhang

Honors, Awards, and Publications

2021 

Ceramic Art 2022 Yearbook,  Ceramics Monthly and Pottery Making Illustrated

+Featured in national publication 

Anonymous Artist Award Recipient, Northern Clay Center, Minneapolis, Minnesota 

2020 

President’s Honorable Mention List, Kansas City Art Institute, Kansas City, Missouri

2019 

President’s List, Kansas City Art Institute, Kansas City, Missouri

Anderson Ranch Arts Center Scholarship Recipient, Snowmass Village, Colorado

2018 

President’s Honorable Mention List, Kansas City Art Institute, Kansas City, Missouri

2016 

President’s List, Kansas City Art Institute, Kansas City, Missouri

Student Ambassador Scholarship, Kansas City Art Institute, Kansas City, Missouri

Exhibitions

2022

Reconnection, Solo Exhibition, Leedy-Voulkos Art Center, Kansas City, Missouri

+ Exhibition about healing from trauma through vessels and figurative sculptures 

Raise a Toast II, The Edwardsville Art Center, Edwardsville, Illinois

Sip: A Ceramic Cup Show, Savannah Clay Community, Savannah, Georgia

2021 

Teabowl National, KC Clay Guild, Arts KC, Kansas City, Missouri 

Cup Sale, KC Urban Potters, Kansas City, Missouri

2020  

BFA Exhibition, Senior Thesis Exhibition, H&R Block Art Space, Kansas City, Missouri

Head Outside, Powell Gardens, Kansas City's Botanical Garden, Kingsville, Missouri 

+  Figurative Bust Exhibition 

2020 

Fielding, Virtual Senior Exhibition, Kansas City Art Institute, Kansas City, Missouri 

2019

Touchy Subjects, Stern Ceramics Building, Kansas City Art Institute, Kansas City, Missouri

Warehaus, Stern Ceramics Building, Kansas City Art Institute, Kansas City, Missouri

Journey to the East: Connections Not Borders, Leedy-Voulkos Art Center, Kansas City Art Institute, Kansas City, Missouri

+  Organized and participated in Group Exhibition to encourage thoughtful dialogue about the Asian diaspora, its development and influence in our current national and global contexts.

In Search of our Mother’s Garden: Role Models and Inspirations, Leedy-Voulkos Art Center, Kansas City, Missouri  

2018 

Hot Stuff, Stern Ceramics Building, Kansas City Art Institute, Kansas City, Missouri

Journey to the East, Nerman Cafe, Kansas City Art Institute, Kansas City, Missouri

+  Organized and participated in Group Exhibition about Asian identity, heritage, and culture

Modus Operandi, Stern Ceramics Building, Kansas City Art Institute, Kansas City, Missouri 

Private Narrative: Public Discourse Exhibition, Leedy-Voulkos Art Center, Kansas City, Missouri 

2017 

Fine Mesh, Stern Ceramics Building, Kansas City Art Institute, Kansas City, Missouri

Year of the Fire Rooster Art Show, Wind Horse Tattoo and Gallery, Kansas City, Missouri

Professional Development

2022-present

200-Hour Mindfulness Teacher Training, Midwest Alliance for Mindfulness, Kansas City, Missouri  

2019 

When the Body Says No & The Myth of Normal: Workshop with Gabor Mate, 

California Institute of Integral Studies, San Francisco, California

+   Workshop that discussed the mind/body stress connection and the physiological consequences of stress, why stress is so prevalent and ingrained in our society, and how to recognize and prevent it. Furthermore, this workshop explained the bio-psychosocial nature of physical and mental illness, and how early experiences not just shape the mind, but also the brain