The world can be a wildly and scarily absurd place. A place where a segment of the populace continue to deny climate change, where an economic downturn elicits hate-speak followed by threats of violence, where knee-jerk reactions overwhelm thoughtful decision-making, where we must confront the reality that our civilization, as it currently stands, is unsustainable and where we find ourselves devolving into an animal-like irrationality, with no end, or hope, in sight.  My work accesses and reflects these issues and highlights the futility and absurdity of these low and unfortunate paths by using a visual language of symbols and metaphors that are intentionally odd and contrary.

Clay is my chosen medium due to its tactile qualities and versatility.  The work is highly textured and utilizes the gamut of clays’ possibilities.  A variety of processes are brought to bear in each work, including coil/slab building, solid sculpting/carving and the use of molds.

What I want the work to be is formidable, mysterious, raw and honest, a reflection of my thoughts, experiences and psychological state.  To attain this presence, I contrast two highly disparate, yet recognizable, images within each work.  Primarily this involves an historical object and a contemporary one.  This contrast is enhanced by the use of irrational scale relationships, a diversity of shapes and textures, emotive color choices and objects that are intentionally dichotomous. My sculptures rely on these contrasting disparate objects to create images of mystery and meaning and to hopefully create a moment of pause, in their viewing, for the investigation of issues larger than oneself.


2011