My sculptures draw heavily on the forms, textures, and colors of nature. These sculptures aren’t strictly representational, but often symbolic.
My artistic motivation largely comes from that same impulse that, as a child, made me take something I’d just discovered and enthusiastically show it to others, saying, “Look at this!” There are two parts of that activity. The first is the joy of discovery – the sense of wonder in seeing or understanding something new in the limitless world around us. But the second part – sharing the discovery – is at least as important. My biggest reward is to make a connection with viewers of my work. When my work evokes a sense of shared experience – when I can see that spark of recognition – then it’s successful.
The work of the artist is to select vignettes from the vast sea of experiences, compose, frame, modify, or reshape them, and present them to others in way that conveys meaning.
Sculpture is my means of expression because it’s both a visual and (at least in the creative process) a tactile medium. The requirement that sculpture has to be touched throughout the creation of a piece is a rewarding necessity. The third dimension of sculpture, the fact that sculpture occupies space, offers possibilities for visual dynamics that are difficult or inaccessible with two-dimensional media. Plus, sculpture creates a different interaction with viewers – the viewer is motivated to move around a sculpture to get different perspectives.
Wood is my primary medium, first, because it’s accessible; it’s widely available and fairly easy to work with. In addition, it’s satisfyingly warm to the touch. Its organic origin means that there is natural variation. Sometimes, depending on the intent of a piece, that variation can be muted or suppressed. But, other times the natural variations are part of the delightful discovery process and are incorporated in the meaning of the final piece.