As a ceramic artist, I use clay to tell stories rooted in personal memory, environment, and cultural identity. My current body of work, titled Bottom Feeders, reimagines my childhood neighborhood in Hempstead, New York, through the lens of ocean bottom ecology. By connecting low-income urban life to the resilience and survival of bottom-dwelling sea creatures, I explore how communities like mine operate as ecosystems—with their own codes, currency, and social rules.
Growing up as a Black American in New York, I was shaped by the sounds and culture of 90s and 2000s hip hop. That music gave voice to the realities I experienced and continues to inspire how I shape narratives through clay. My work is not just about survival, it’s about adaptation, value, and the complexity of life in neighborhoods often misunderstood or overlooked.
As an emerging artist, I am focused on using ceramics as a medium to process and present stories from the margins. My long-term goal is to open a Black-owned pottery studio in Houston and to teach clay classes at churches throughout the city. Working with clay is often seen as a middle or upper-middle class hobby, but I believe it should be accessible to everyone. Especially, to kids and families in low-income communities. By bringing ceramics into church spaces, I want to make art a tool for healing, connection, and creative empowerment in places that already serve as community anchors.