Artist’s Statement

My path as an artist has been a long one starting with painting and ending up as a sculptor. Thanks to my son Steve who started work at Club Med one day he called us to let us know he was being sent to Bali! That was the day that a special on PBS was doing a story on Bali, the shadow puppets, the dancers, and then a man came on to demonstrate the carving of a mask! That was the moment I was hooked, when he took that knife to cut into the wood! I knew then I had to go to the town of Maas in Bali to see the woodcarvers.

Three mornings one week I sat along side the woodcarvers learning how to use the tools and started carving a small bird. I bought his hand forged steel carving tools that I still use in my studio, and have done so on both wood and stone. I’ve drawn inspiration from the world around me. When working in stone or wood, or clay, I’ve played music to tune out the distractions, and only concentrate on what is in front of me. Whatever I’ve read about, or experienced personally becomes my focus, and the material dictates the way for me to work.

I see in the stone, with its colors and textures where to cut away. The wood has its colors and textures, and I work with it following its grain.

Working in clay is a whole other experience because there is nothing to guide me, but what I envision. Those pieces became my bronzes. The whole manufacturing process is fascinating: from getting the wax from the mold to take to the foundry to receiving the metal. The last step is to take it to the patina artist who brings it to life in the colors I instructed him to use.

My last work evolved over a period of many years. As the stone revealed what was underneath I uncovered it. It takes patience, and knowing when to stop cutting! Unlike clay once stone is cut there is no putting it back.