Tell us about your practice and how you came to making?

Early on in my schooling I studied fine art, specifically sculpture and photography. I realized that my views and ideas were shifting and I wanted to make objects that had inherent aesthetic value but that were also functional. I wanted my work to be lived with and connected with. In 2020 I made my transition into furniture design, at the Rhode Island School of Design’s MFA program in the Furniture Department.

Do you have a ritual when it comes to creating work?

My ritual consists of research to start. I sift through old photos, usually of my family's hometowns, old Middle Eastern and Ukrainian ceramic crafts and architecture. Then a visual starts to form in my mind, that usually consists of a family of objects, with relations to each other. I tend to make objects that belong together. For instance, the Checkered Side Table and Brick Vase I made simultaneously, picturing their partnership as some thing that is important to me, that each piece implies the other and while they can stand alone they are mean to be together. I sketch, and I begin to work through the practicalities of the pieces. I don't usually create strict drawings for myself, I allow myself to work like a sculpture. Removing and adding material as I go until I find balance.

How does your experience as a cook influence your connection to objects? 

Most of my memories consist of lively dinner parties. Cooking, feeding, sharing food and drinks with people as an act of surrender and generosity. I learned to cook when I was a child and I chose to take that into my professional life for four years. It is one of the most influential decisions I made in my life. It taught me many things, but in relation to my connection with objects, it reminded me of the importance of creating an environment for people to feel warm and welcomed and curious about the objects around them that are inherently influencing their experience. Bringing focus to those moments of company.

Your work is heavily influenced by your cultural upbringing, can you talk about this a little more?

I was raised in a household that brought together people and cultures, which is apparent in my work. I like to make relationships between objects, and between people and objects. My cultural upbringing is also why I have been so influenced by food, cooking, and hospitality. A dinner is always a party and an intimate affair in my house, with shared plates and shoulders pressed together. And there is always support, from friends, from family, for you, for others. This comes from a history of having to be tight-knit, work through struggles together, but always coming back to celebrate with one another. Aesthetically I'm informed by the architecture, colors, textures and history from my family's home towns; the bricks, the cobblestones, the vegetation, the laundry lines hung between apartments in alley ways, rustic tiles, pervasive human history in the stones.

You speak about folk tales and their influence in creating collections,  any stories in particular that you’re working through right now?

I don't think about a specific folktale per se, but I am influenced by the folk-rituals, superstitions and folk imagery that have accompanied my upbringing. For example, the imagery of a pomegranate sparks cultural  memories of prosperity, luck and health, and stories shared over the  Jewish new year. To this day I look in a mirror and spit over my shoulder if I have to go back into the house to get my forgotten keys. This  way of moving through the world with regular reactions to regular occurrences gives structure, and I think about some of my process  similarly. Regular decisions and issues should be met with similar  responses and balances.

Wood seems to be an influential material for you. Can you talk about  how you came to woodworking?

When I decided to shift my practice into furniture design, my technical experience around woodworking was underdeveloped. I was lucky  enough to have the opportunity to choose a medium to focus my  energy on in my MFA, and to be guided by some great teachers and  mentors. The warmth of wood as a material is what drew me to it, and  the ability to make something rigid seem soft and inviting intrigued me.  At this point of my practice, when a sketch appears, I try to visualize it  in a number of materials, but wood is just the material I tend to gravitate toward.

You’ve recently moved into experimenting with ceramics and clay, what  sparked this transition?

I wanted to move into a practice that felt more meditative. Clay is a  material that I feel I have less control over. Even if I use the same clay  body, same glaze, same drying period I always have a piece that  comes out unique. To me this is satisfying and also helps me work on  my patience within the making process.

What’s something you’ve always imagined but maybe haven’t had the time or opportunity to work on?

I have naturally been intrigued by making cutlery and glassware! Who  knows, this may be the year for it.

What’s next for you? What are you working on now?

I am currently working on a collection of paired objects. A new family of  side tables/stools with their accompanied table top pieces. I will be  exploring some new materials including glass and a heavier focus on  ceramics.