WARRIOR

Stoneclay, wood firing (Anagama), 21x10x10in (55х25x25cm), 2026

This work is about those who are fiercely defending their small, independent

Ukraine today - those who stand against the ruthless, aggressive, deranged

murderer that is the Russian Federation.

I deeply wanted this piece to go through the wood firing. Only an anagama kiln

could transform the sculpture into the image of a True Warrior - one who has

endured the infernal trials of war.

Following the advice of master ceramic artist Chris Gustin, in whose kiln this piece

was fired, we did not stand the head upright. Instead, we laid it down so that the

one side of the face was turned directly toward the stream of flame - into the part

of the kiln where the sculpture would inevitably become scorched, charred, and

marked with fragments of ash fused to its surface. In the corner of the left eye, the

ash turned the glaze into what looks like sparse masculine tears…

The fire became co-creators of this artistic process and helped bring into being

the image I had envisioned from the beginning: the image of a true Warrior bearing

the scars of fire, ash, battles, and devastation.