My ceramic sculptures are created in an intuitive journey from formlessness to sculptural form. Clay has great versatility but no inherent shape, a kind of primordial muck. A tool, the extruder, organizes chaos and imposes an initial impetus; tubes, square tubes, rods and other linear shapes are made. These building blocks are coaxed together while still soft and pliant — tender beginnings — propped, slung, braced. As the sculpture grows ideas and form become more definite. Relationships are created, edited, altered, refined. Balance is an essential component. Arms, newly confident, extend into space; legs take up their supportive role; cocooning forms nestle together. The sculpture is almost complete. The first firing dramatically punctuates the process, permanently transforming the sculpture into a rock-hard state. For the final firing thin washes of subtle color accentuate the marks on the surface, creating a final episode in the journey.