Who has been your biggest influence and why?

My biggest influence has to be a tie between one of two people. My first was my high school ceramics teacher Mrs. Ackerman who I met when I took my very first ceramics class in junior high school. She was the most kind, knowledgeable, and supportive teacher I’ve ever had. She cared about us all as individuals and did everything she could to make sure we were making work we enjoyed, that we were progressing in the class learning all that we had to, and that we had a safe space to self-express and grow into the artists we wanted to be. My second would have to be Tyler Ceramics’ studio tech, Donte Moore. Over the past few years of working together, Donte has helped me every step of the way. Whether it be thinking through a piece conceptually or functionally, giving me extra opportunities to gain knowledge and experience in the field, or sitting down with me to better hone my ceramic skills. Donte always shows up and is a helping hand. Without either one of them, I wouldn't be who or where I am today.

Why is art class/art education important? 

Art education is important because it helps individuals grow in a multitude of ways. First, it gives students the chance to sit down for an hour or so a day, to reflect, be free, and step out of a data-driven world. It allows them to question and look at life and everything they know about it in different, new ways. Secondly, it opens students up to a new community in which they can be around other creative individuals. It shows why a creative environment is so important. It builds community and brings people together. Whether it be sharing work with each other, working on a community-based project, cleaning up after a class as a whole, or helping each other out whenever needed. Art education blurs the lines and breaks the boundaries between individual growth and group growth. Lastly, it pushes culture and artistic expression forward. Art, and especially ceramics, has always been an innate urge that others have acted upon to express themselves or problem-solve. The parallel relationship between art and function, for me at least, goes back centuries. Art shapes culture, and culture shapes art. With art education, students get to have their own say in what their culture looks like, on a micro, and personal level, as well as a community, and macro level. 

What advice would you give to other artists? *

One piece of advice that I would give other artists, of any age, would be to never lose your sense of curiosity and play. Never stop asking why. Never stop asking and acting on what-ifs. Never stop asking for help or how someone else might do something. Never stop looking at things from different perspectives. You never know unless you try. Acting on our curiosities and playful urges is the most innate form of self-expression and is what comes to us in the truest form. That, and to always keep your creative friends close. Art is nothing if we can’t share, talk, or question others about it. Art thrives in community, so always try to keep yours close.