The Clench Project began in my studio New Year’s Day 2017. I went there to do something creative after a long fallow period. But by the time I cleaned up the studio and got out the clay, it was time to go home! Determined to at least touch clay, I opened a bag, grabbed a fistful of clay and squeezed it. The shape it made, familiar to any potter, struck me that day. So simple, but it held the distress I felt over so little time to create! The form was a portrait of the inside of my fist!

After that day, I continued to make these shapes. I invited others to make them, too. They record our human desire to change the current state of things.

To date, I have collected well over 1000 clenches. I anticipate eventually permanently installing the clenches in a community garden.