The most private moments of my life are captured in my sculptures. They are my autobiography. They express in wood what I know deep in my bones, beneath words. These private moments tell universal stories; they tap into the network of human relationships I have developed throughout my 62 years.
I think with a pencil and paper. I draw in quiet and solitude. I am dogged and stubborn as I search for a form. Once I find it, I swing into action. Table saw, bandsaw, various grinders, sanders, clamps, chisels, hammer and glue are the tools of my trade. Behind goggles and masks, as the studio becomes covered in layers of wood chips, I laminate pieces of lumber, I juxtapose parts to whole, positive to negative spaces. Colors, stains and textures complete the process that allow the internal logic of the work to become visible to the eye.
A myriad of feelings flow throughout this intensely physical process: frustration, gratitude, a sense of peace as well as isolation, connection. From 4” x 4” planks of red cedar I create and animate abstract forms that whisper their stories, beckon the heart, delight the eye and invite the imagination. I am utterly captured by this process. Call it magic or call it spirit.