Artist Statement: From the Earth, Return to the Earth explores truth to material in a literal sense. The clay fish captured in the crochet pet shop bag expects a life of glass walls and hardship, but instead is set free back to its environment both as a fish and as a piece of clay. Working with something from the earth like clay reminds us of impermanency – just as quickly clay can become a beautiful sculpture, it can become a lump of mud. From the Earth, Return to the Earth is a means for me to accept impermanency and seek freedom from traumas explored through both sculpture and ceramics modules, and letting go and being set free like the fish.