A Fair Trade

When I applied to the Massillon Museum in 2021 for a duo show, I didn't know what exactly I was getting into. I felt ready for something big, but this was more work and more fun than I could have imagined.

Collaborating with ceramic artist and production potter Grant Ederer (https://www.grantedererdesign.com/) was an idea I had been working on for a while, probably unbeknownst to him. I got the idea that two artists working in crafts disciplines might be better than one, and increase our odds of getting a show.

The initial idea was that we would trade pieces and incorporate visual elements from each other's work into new pieces for the show. What actually happened was a deeper understanding of why we aesthetically value certain formal arrangements of color, shape and pattern. For me, this has always been more intuitive. I like to respond to the colors with the shapes and back and forth. I discovered that for Grant, his shape and color juxtapositions are so much more planned out, much like a scientific experiment.

The resulting project was really more of a conversation between our two styles of making artwork. we had a lot of meetings and studio visits where we talked about what was working, and what we would love to see from each other. I feel like I learned so much more than I would have making this work alone in the vacuum of my studio.

"A Fair Trade" will be on view at the Massillon Museum starting on 11/16, and will run until January 5th, 2025. The artists' reception will be Friday, January 4th from 5-7PM