I first became aware of archetypes and concept of Carl Jung's collective unconscious when I was a student in graduate school trying to explain why, as a ceramist, that I felt a need to photograph myself camping for the camera as my alter ego, the Kiln Priestess. Created in response to my desire to control the firing process, my Kiln Priestess character was predicated on the notion that a kiln god could take human form. As a chthonic character representing a flesh-and-blood kiln god come to life, the Kiln Priestess was, and still is for me, a numinous figure that embodies the creative force or spirit that guides her production of pottery.

Using some of the same themes and objects found in my photographs, my performance art pieces enable me to dramatize my Kiln Priestess concepts in real time. Furthermore, I feel that I am able to allow viewers inside the world of the Kiln Priestess where they can more closely examine and witness a ritual performance that speaks about making ceramics and its ties with primal notions of experiencing the earth as a life-giving force.