In 1987 the rims of the platters I was making became wider. This was a break from the thin, rounded edges that were predominant in my earlier work. I began to think of the rim as a "canvas" which would become a large part of the total composition of the piece. I called these pieces ceremonial bowls, because they referred to ceremonial functions rather than domestic ones. The painted platters were a direct outgrowth of these ceremonial pieces. Cutting through a colored surface to reveal a pattern, modeled after the ceramic technique of sgraffito, enabled me to create new kinds of patterns while utilizing plain woods. With all of these pieces, the idea of the mandala was foremost. The rims carried a lot of energy, sometimes chaotic,which was resolved by the calm center.