About
Artist statement
The work is generally figurative but informed by found materials and a bit of fantasy. The impetus for the work generally starts with a piece of wood or metal and proceeds in layers of attached weaving. Although sometimes the inspiration to create is generated by my collections of recycled materials. I have used Champagne wire bails (the part that holds the cork on) in a series of vertebra sculptures. Glass beads, plastic fish, wooden harmonic instruments have shown up in various pieces as a reference to a narrative that I have construed to the art piece.
At this stage in my life, I am emboldened in my art, to help my collections of flotsam and jetsam find a way in to my art or.. the landfill. In working to reduce my collections, it becomes a personal archaeological dig. I investigate of the objects original Siren call and discover its possible transformation.
Biography
I am a native Californian, a baby boomer and a born scavenger. I also wander around the world scavenging new experiences. In the early 90's through 00's I explored the figure in sculpture – stone, cast bronze, ceramic, mixed media and eventually copper wire and wood. I was riding a wave of art making when I was thrown a curve ball. I was asked to become Partner in a small, local company (CMS Collaborative Inc.) whose directive is designing water features. I accepted and have spent the last 15 years facilitating the design of water features chiefly in the United States for several clients, including the Gates Foundation in Seattle, Dilworth Park in Philadelphia, the Pentagon 911 Memorial in Washington D.C. and New York Botanical Garden in New York City. I have also had the privilege of working with internationally known Architects and Landscape Architects. Gustafson Guthrie Nichol, OLIN Partnership, SWA Group, SOM and Oehme Van Sweden and Associates are a select few, among others. My experience running a business and being exposed to world-class minds educated me in the art of viewing and I consider this period of time an active incubation period. I retired from CMS at the close of 2016. Now, I am ready, after a long hiatus, for my own art making.
In recent work, I use copper wire, bronze casts and found wood, scavenged materials. I gather and I collect. My work is figurative, in a kind of twisted way. The instigator of an idea can often be a curve or fold in the branches or trunks that remind me of the silhouette of a figure or the movement of a figure. The pieces sometimes take on a kind of mythic narrative that can have a historic precedent but are more often in the realm of pure fantasy. There is a connection to handwork like basketry and weaving and certainly the story of a piece is often imbued in the rhythm of making.
Making has always given me satisfaction: making food, making friends and making art. “Making" is the wellspring where ideas meet the physical world, and there, it can generate a spark that may thrive and become a thing or it may die an ignoble death. Either way the process connects me to a legacy of making.
Education
Phoebe Adams, Master Artist Workshop, Marion Scholarship Santa Fe Art Institute, NM 1997
Manual Neri, Master Artist Workshop, Marion Scholarship Santa Fe Art Institute, NM 1996
Daniel Clayman, Sculpture Workshop-RISD Providence, RI-1996
Olinka Granz,Intensive Sculpture Workshop-Granz Studio, Czech Republic -1995