I was working in my studio this weekend, turning out a couple of giant (28 inch diamter) basins. See brief process video below. These are destined for an upcoming show at the Little Pink House Gallery here in Idaho. 

As part of creating large vessels, I have a near pathological tendency in inscribe stylized wildlife, mountains, marine mammals… and fish, always fish. 

The thing that fascinates me about these designs is how constant they’ve stayed over the years. I’m not trying to navel-gaze here… but it seems like many artists have visual ‘anchors’ that they keep returning to in their work. Stylized fish are definitely one of mine.

As one example… the vessel in the image atop this post is literally one of the first objects I ever made on the wheel. I was taking a Raku workshop with Steve Hemingway in the 2000’s- probably a main reason that I’m an artist today. Check out the fish… it’s not identical to what I’m doing now… but it’s pretty close. The fish print on the left (similar to work on sale in my shop, incidentally) is much more recent. You can see the evolution… and the constancy.

The other day, I was looking at one of my old guitars. The strap dates back to college- when my parents bought me the guitar as a gift. It was a plain, lean leather strap… and I impulsively took black ink and decorated it. The mark-making is so similar… lines and arcs, ovoids and swooshes.

I don’t know where these come from… but we’re creatures of instinct in so many ways, aren’t we?