This body of work derives from my personal experiences of growing up in South Texas and living in the American Southwest, where snakes, scorching temperatures and wildflowers alike are a part of daily life. Parts of these plants and animals, such as the spots of extrafloral nectaries on cactus, the curve of a beetle’s exoskeleton, and protrusions of dried bones, are distilled into the forms of my functional pottery. The unglazed dry exteriors of the translucent porcelain resembles a sun-bleached consciousness that’s only attainable in a desert summer. While the blue interiors cool you down as much as the ever welcomed monsoon rains. Pinching and coil building brings a softness to the harsh yet beautiful ecologies that influence my work. By introducing these spikes to the dinner table, a hopefully safe space to exchange ideas, the pots are a metaphor for learning to be vulnerable and find playfulness in an often tough world.