Artist Statement My sculpture always begins with finding something in nature and envisioning the possibility to make it speak loudly to my fellow man.
The tree branch, the half-rotten root, the splintered trunk, the weirdly eroded rock, they all seem to call out to me to give them attention and care - for some envisioned transformation.
Julian was the master of optical perception, - I have the strong inclination toward what I call sensory perception. My attraction to nature - often overlooked or discarded remains – become my focus for transforming interaction with them. This call to action, to interaction to transformation for the purpose of communication on a new level of understanding and sharing with others is the aim of my struggles in art. If I can lift up the discarded and make it relevant - I feel rewarded.
These emissaries from nature – wood and stone – are communicating their needs and wants and possibilities to me and I remain open to the challenge of making these possibilities visual, tangible and assessable to others. There is a joy and surprise in revealing something out of nothing!
The physical work of interacting, of getting dirty of becoming part of the object’s specific smell and discriminating sound is part of entering into the material’s character. I do not destroy without the knowledge of resurrection. My sculptures remain material manifestations, tangible for others through selected compositional relationships, sensory surfaces and lineal movement.
The ideas – concepts – remain open to be filled by the onlooker who experiences nature anew.