Marquis dedicated significant time to developing specialized low-temperature glazes, achieving a luminous finish that challenges the typically muted quality of such surfaces. Her palette draws directly from historically significant Asian ceramic traditions. In Garden Stool: Sancai, she references the vibrant three-color glazing technique of the Tang Dynasty from ancient China, presenting a copper glaze accented with iron oxide and deep chocolate tones. Garden Stool: Celadon pays homage to the revered celadon glaze, long celebrated across Asian art history, which developed during the Eastern Han and Song dynasties, featuring a soft green glaze and subtle turquoise chun glaze highlights. Meanwhile, Garden Stool: Green (Luse de) features a teal base enriched by metallic black accents, offering a more contemporary interpretation of historical glazing traditions.

This body of work is also deeply personal. Marquis approaches Asian art history with reverence and intentionality, influenced by her family: her husband and daughter are Chinese American. As the mother of a daughter who identifies as Chinese, she is committed to understanding and engaging meaningfully with the cultural histories that inform these works.

Functional as both seating and side tables, the Garden Stools are designed for versatility, suitable for indoor and outdoor environments while maintaining a strong sculptural presence.

Represented by Todd Merrill Studio, Marquis is widely recognized for pushing both visual and technical boundaries in ceramics. Her practice challenges conventional distinctions between decoration and structure, utility and abstraction. Over more than a decade, she has developed a distinctive process rooted in translating ephemeral phenomena—such as shadows, reflections, and traces—into tangible clay forms. Often beginning with traced drawings of plant shadows from her own garden, she builds a personal visual lexicon that informs her compositions.

These drawings are layered, manipulated, and reconfigured into intricate, often symmetrical arrangements reminiscent of Rorschach patterns. Through a process that blends architectural thinking with intuitive experimentation, Marquis transforms thick slabs of clay into forms that feel both delicate and structurally robust. Her precise reductive carving is balanced by the fluidity of loosely applied glazes, softening edges and introducing movement.

While grounded in a clear conceptual framework, Marquis’ work ultimately invites open interpretation, encouraging viewers to engage with its shifting boundaries between function, decoration, and sculpture.