Porcelain Ceramic Heart Project:

Through these sculptures, I aim to convey the complex emotional landscape of life and love. Passion, represented by the element of fire, burns within all of us, yet few escape unscathed by its intensity. These hearts bear visible scars, age lines, bandages, patched areas, and even holes that suggest the loss of loved ones. They reflect how we carry our emotional histories openly on the surface, shaped by the wounds and healing that define human connection. After a year of losing eight friends, I feel I have to express my deep loss visually.

My series of heart sculptures emerges from a deeply personal and reflective place, inspired by a range of life experiences that have left indelible marks on my own heart. The loss of close friends, the intertwined emotions of love and loss, and the recognition that relationships shape us in profound, lasting ways all fuel this work. Additionally, I sought to find a more constructive and meaningful use of gunpowder—traditionally associated with war—to imbue these sculptures with passion and transformation rather than destruction.

The hearts themselves are crafted from high-fire porcelain clay, chosen for its strength and luminous whiteness. Each piece begins with hand-formed shapes, which are carefully fired and glazed. The final layer comes from a unique and intensive firing process involving gunpowder and wood, applied individually to each sculpture. This method presented a steep learning curve over three years, requiring me to understand the nuances of porcelain as the hardest and whitest clay, experiment with drawing on curved forms, and master the complexities of wood- and gunpowder-firing to create lasting surface effects. I also addressed the practical challenge of designing pedestals and wall hanging systems to support the work’s display. Evidence of loss, pain, scars of past life experiences, and the once “pure” forms are defective and abused.

This series is a natural extension of my ongoing artistic vision and philosophy. For decades, I have been dedicated to creating beautiful objects and paintings, heart- themed paintings for years, and these sculptures represent a physical embodiment of those earlier explorations. They express my “job” as an artist—to translate emotion and experience into tangible, visual form. Each piece has my thumbprint in red emblazoned on the bottom of the hearts.

Although hearts are frequently associated with Valentine’s Day and romantic affection, my work seeks to expand the symbolism to encompass the fullness of life’s emotional reality. At my current stage in life, in my seventies, I am acutely aware of mortality and the accumulation of past experiences. These sculptures are a meditation on how even the happiest individuals bear the marks of injury, loss, and