These vases to the right (scroll down to see all of them) are the first in a collection I have been working on that explores the creepy, poisonous or weird aspects of nature that I find repulsive and try to make beautiful. Chromium Lily is glazed with a poisonous glaze inside, because I was thinking about how some plants and flowers are dangerous to ingest. I thought it would be interesting to make a pitcher that could never be safely used for food, but is beautiful to look at. There are so many animals and plants that use strange survival tactics in nature, and with each vase I am trying to intertwine that oddity with a ceramic form.

Because each vase takes about a month to complete, I really feel as though I am living in a microcosm of our natural world each time I create one. I try to choose subjects that will be difficult for me to think about, feel, and create with my hands, like the spider in Hidden Within. My psychologist sister would say I am running my own form of Cognitive Behavioral Therapy for myself through some of these pieces!

I have a fear of bunches of eggs or holes, which I call "creeps" and share with my mom and sisters. Recently my mom found a website that names this fear! See trypophobia.com, or look up the word in Urban Dictionary. All these years, we thought it was a Mahoney family oddity! Some of my recent works deal with this fear, as seen in the suction cups on Blue Ringed Octopus Vase or the eggs on the inside edges of Cane Toads: Breeding Ground.