My life as an artist has been relatively unconventional.

Most of my skills are self-taught with specific instruction

through apprenticeships, classes and books offered by

several remarkable teachers. A lung disease changed my

trajectory at the age of thirty. Though it arrested my

career in stone, it allowed me to hone my skills in

drawing, painting and ceramics. 

 

Before my illness, I gravitated toward literature, artwork and architecture that taught me about the sacred and the Divine. Once I became ill, these qualities became even more important to me and eventually to my work. From living with oxygen tanks and surviving through multiple lung transplant surgeries to living with a strong and healthy body once again, I perceive life in a unique way.

 

As for my work, my intention is to point or guide the viewer toward the sacred beauty that I have come to see all around me. Through symbolism and the illumination of nature’s wonders (including human individuality), I wish to inspire others to become more aware of the Divine around them and in them.  Contemplating art, at its best, can do this.

 

My own practice of contemplation extends to the technique that I use to make art: Connecting and flowing with the subject and the medium. For me this is best accomplished by hand building techniques. I use coils to build most of my vessels and three dimensional sculptures. This method is an intuitive practice that allows me the  time and space to process.  The carving that I do harkens back to the years I spent as a stone carver. Often the clay is allowed to stiffen enough to carve away what I do not need so that I may realize the sharp detail that I desire. Similar to the way I go about living these days.