After 25 years as an art-furniture-maker and over 10 years designing and building houses, I am now finding new inspiration as a sculptor.  Prior to this career change, my creative process involved working within the tight constraints set by the function of the object or building I was designing.  For instance, a successful design for a chair, a table, or especially a house, must meet a very particular set of functional criteria.  In the case of a commission, the needs and desires of the client as well as the budget add further constraints.  

 

For many years I enjoyed the challenge of solving aesthetic problems within these types of strict parameters.   The work required a discipline I was comfortable with — a discipline that, with time, became automatic for me.  But I now feel drawn to move beyond the functional limits inherent in architectural and furniture design.  Exploring new aesthetic challenges as a sculptor has become my current focus.

 

Authenticity is far more important to me than the concerns of formal development.  While I would not discourage intellectual reflection as part of the viewer’s experience with my work, I hope “thinking” is secondary to “feeling” and “sensing.”  Toward the aim of evoking an emotional and sensory response in the viewer, I make intuitive choices regarding materials, the use of texture, color, and asymmetry.  The archetypal spiral form often appears in my work, as does an irregular hand-drawn line.

 

I bring decades of experience as an art-furniture maker and designer to my practice as a sculptor.  My work is informed by a concern for craftsmanship and an intimate knowledge of how to shape and manipulate my materials.  As the craft of what I do is now second nature, I am free to watch for the visual surprises that often occur as a sculpture evolves from sketch to mock-up, to the actual making of the final work.  It is in these discoveries that I find opportunities for an authentic artistic expression to emerge.