“Most of my pieces resemble fragile dried flowers. Because coloured flowers are very common, I use black clay which allows the viewer to use their imagination to see beyond the flower. Before I begin creating a piece, I have in my mind a rough idea of its size and shape. If I start off with a sketch for the end product, then the forms tend to be something I have previously seen, and so the finished piece won’t be interesting to me; therefore, I prefer to allow for significant changes while I am in the progress of making my piece. I mix clay with black pigments in varying proportions in order to create a monochromatic palette. When constructing a piece, I first make ‘petals’ out of very thin black clay, and while doing this I keep in mind the need to express various movements or shapes of the individual petals. I then make thousands of the very small, needle-sized rods that form the center cluster or ‘stamens’ of the flower. It is important for me to convey a sense of growth, in order to express the flower in its final stage of life. When I observe all the stages of the life of a single flower—the first stem, the buds, the full bloom, the wilting, and drying—I am reminded of the same stages in the lives of human beings. This is generally the source of my inspiration. In spite of the inevitable ending of life, both flowers and humans produce new generations. I am always deeply touched by the invisible pulsating life force of flowers, and I try to express this energy in my work with flower forms.”