ARTIST STATEMENT

I am a cabinetmaker and self-taught artist who creates functional and sculptural works made of wood.

Since my childhood I have had this strong attraction to wood and I have been stoking the fires for a long time. At 10 years of age a large box arrived at my house delivered by the postal service after I clipped and mailed in a coupon from a magazine offering a free 30 day trial for an electric circular saw much to my parent’s surprise.

As a teen I was Inspired by an older brother’s home darkroom to dabble in photography. I attended a radical hippy high school that built a dark room for me to use. I also began to work with jute and fine threads to create wall hangings that dangled from tree branches with a mix of seashells, crystals and beads. Next there was even a phase experimenting with clay and the potter’s wheel.

I encountered the driftwood drenched shores along the Southern Oregon coast setting my imagination wild with its possibilities. I began collecting and milling discarded urban trees, charred Manzanita roots, and other wood debris from local beaches after big winter storms washed hillsides and buildings into the sea. These finds have traveled with me from shop to shop over several decades and now found their way into my art practice.

I started working as a carpenter in my mid 20’s by buying a hammer, an electric circular saw and a power drill and putting an ad in the local newspaper for general carpentry with no prior experience.  The phone started ringing and I learned little by little, acquiring tools and skills as I went, one job at a time.  Carpentry seemed like a stroke of genius as it also generated an income, shifting away from objects for sale, to service for hire.  I thought that maybe I had solved the artist / income conundrum.  I produced a lot of sawdust over many years plying my craft while creating custom cabinetry gems. I became a craftsman by facing problems, making mistakes and finding solutions.

I always had a vague idea that there would be a next phase - that the time and effort I had devoted to woodwork would lead somewhere creatively. I have pioneered a woodworking style that combines a wide variety of wood in ways that are far from traditional. No longer hidden backstage, my long-saved collection of wood fragments is now being turned into sculpture. The intricate and complex interplay of a variety of woods highlights and elevates the varied colors, textures and patterns inherent in the material accentuates the natural aspects of painting and sculpture found in each piece.

My skills, passion and voice have converged and ignited. The former cabinetry based activities and shop have been transformed into an artist’s studio. I’m utilizing the same space, tools and many of the same materials but nothing I’ve ever worked on resembles the work I’m producing today.

Some six years back, on a fluke I had the idea to make a small hollow cube and attach to its surface a grid of thin solid pieces; some natural and others with a thin wash of color. It was an impulse that came out of nowhere and worked for me creatively. I photographed it and thus ignited impulses that continue to this day. In these years of activity I have produced a large body of sculptural and functional work that are all spinoffs from this first experiment using small cubes. I am meandering a path, improvising and experimenting as I go; continuously refining concept and process. My goal is to draw attention to the natural beauty and soulfulness of the wood.

My work finds inspiration from artists such as Travis Townsend and his works “New Marooning” and “Place Marker” where he freely leaves pencil marks, glue drips, and clamps as a part of the finished piece with total abandonment, confidence and freedom. Dutch designer, Piet Hein Eek’s work places him in a league of his own both in volume and scale. He is known for designs which require significant time from craftspeople, despite using very inexpensive, found materials. In a series of dining room tables titled, “Waste Table in Scrap Wood.” I felt an immediate kinship in his innovative re-use of old fencing and house siding to create functional furniture. His monumental figurative sculptures are an astonishing amalgamation of e-waste, old appliance parts, and computer parts.

German artist Reinhard Voss’ specializes in creating wooden portraits such as “Lot” by piecing together multiple strips of wood, leaving out the eyes and concentrating on the varying grains and planes to create provocative portraits. And finally, The Yard Sale Project came to my attention through the Merrill Gallery in New York which showcased a striking mixed hardwood sculptural chair displaying a sophisticated blend of design, fine art sculpture, and function.