The nature of clay's physical attributes and the application of these characteristics to an expression of gestural movement in utilitarian ceramics.

Process and form have always been important to my work. I emphasize the soft qualities of clay while working with traditional forms that are altered for visual interest. Usability is very important, the forms have to function well according to their intended use. The relationship between form and manipulation relied on usability of the form. Functionality was paramount within this body of work. I consciously searched for balance between form and manipulation, form and glaze, form and function, and overall character. Though altered, the forms were traditional and dependent on function. Manipulations of the forms, surface treatment, and deep colorful glazes contributed to creating harmony between function and expression. Personal stylistic elements became refined through working on this project. The body of work that was made allocated personal expression and new variations on functional forms. This project provided an opportunity for exploration and evaluation of form and my working process.

With the proliferation of Schenkerian theory in the US, Great Britain, and mainland Europe in the past quarter century, the pedagogy of Schenkerian analysis has become an important issue. Schenker himself was suspicious of textbooks with their tendency for artificial codification and over-simplification; rather, he recognized that his “New Teaching” (“Die neue Lehre”) – as he called it – required a different, more “organic” pedagogical approach that was both personal and yet accessible to a wide audience. New digital technologies and the Internet now have made it possible to disseminate Schenker’s pedagogical approach by adapting interactive techniques of Web-based instruction. Schenker’s “new teaching” was as organic as his theory itself – and as novel in the connections it sought to draw between the individualed disciplines of theory, musicology, composition, and performance. The interactive and multi-media components of Web-based instruction enable us to realize Schenker’s own pedagogical approach to Schenkerian analysis instruction.