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December 7, 2006

My work is evidence of experiences in the natural world. From walks in the woods, to river expeditions, these physical encounters have led me to a greater level of personal consciousness. Understanding my environment is an essential motivation for my creative process. Nature is the didactic arena that I seek. Through my studio work I have realized what these experiences are consciously revealing to me. River trips by boat have led me to many places. These vessels have been the carriers for my integration into the wild, which has allowed me to foster my personal connection with nature.  I am intent on creating work that offers the notion of hope and the embodiment of strength. This is a direct response to nature itself and the risks that are inherent with in it.  Nature is a collection of many of the formal qualities that interest me and in turn influence my work.
My work is simple in its method, yet transfers a generosity of scale to the viewer. The forms define space, and their weight is connected to the landscape they are inspired by.
My work is about the spatial relationships I have experienced in nature and, in turn, the work has become a voice for those landscapes. When I find natural debris such as rock or wood it can be arranged in striking compositions. How and why these materials are placed that way is curious to me.  I often see the evidence of natural events such as rockslides, floods, or avalanches, but I am seldom there to witness the actual events.
 These processes of our natural world are constantly occurring. The evidence is all around us. My emotional response to these events is an important aspect of my creative process.
To witness the tremendous strength of our natural world is a constant reminder of our own fragility as human beings. This concept is what I want my work to convey.
These slip cast driftwood and river rocks remind me of brittle chalky bones I find in the wild.  I see these as reminders of our own brief existence.  My interface with the natural world helps me realize the importance of the element of time in the creation of my work. The process of wood firing my work relates to the physicality of my artistic concepts. Forces of nature often include the elements of fracture stress and strain.  Random strokes of flame and deposits of ash allude to idea of a tortured earth.  I am pleased when I pull pieces from the firing and they appear stripped raw, scoured of my hand.