My goal with my work is to externalize the feeling of being "beloved"; I am inspired by artifacts– toys, statuettes, good-luck charms– passed through many hands, bearing the patina of touch and care. I want to create objects that look as though they have experienced second-hand a childhood, gaining life through being played with and handled. Hand-in-hand with that is my fixation on sexual development and taboo, and how both have roots in our experiences with childhood. The duality of these interests is the foundation for much of my work. Midge’s World is a collection about erotization of female childhood, and how young girls will often sexualize themselves in mimicry of adult role models or for the approval of others. I chose ceramic as my primary medium because of the physical contact necessitated by the process of sculpting, as well as the potential for spectator contact with the finished pieces: to me, underglaze ceramic is an extremely touchable, tempting surface. Midge, as she exists in sculptural form, has been touched over and over, inside and out: she is couched in her safe, soft display, surrounded by toys, but violation is an innate requirement for her existence.