A native of West Virginia, I grew up near the state’s coal mining industry and later worked in the field of geology at the University of Kentucky. This experience of studying landscapes, of the discourse of geological time, and the social and ecological consequences of resource extraction continues to infuse my work. I am deeply interested in the presence and meaning within material itself, what Robert Smithson referred to as the infraphysical. Through material experimentation and inciting chemical reactions within the environment of the kiln, I discover information about the properties of matter and metamorphosis. My process begins with a given structure: an object collected or excavated from my surroundings. The found object is a core sample that I extrapolate in order to project a broader view of the landscape.

I received an M.F.A. from Virginia Commonwealth University and a B.F.A. from Washington University in St. Louis where I was the Conway Scholar. My work has been exhibited nationally, including at the KMAC Museum in Louisville, KY, the University of the Arts in Philadelphia, PA, and UrbanGlass, in Brooklyn, NY. In 2018, I was awarded the Irvin Borowsky International Prize in Glass Arts and my work was included in the landmark exhibition New Glass Now at the Corning Museum of Glass in 2019-20. I have been an artist-in-residence at Pilchuck Glass School, Haystack Mountain School of Crafts and the Corning Museum of Glass.