A R T I S T   S T A T E M E N T

I have always loved animals, all kinds of animals, from the more common domestic, to the most exotic and strange. It is the presence of animals that grounds my soul. Sculpture allows me to put an animal before me, to touch it, to get within its being. I try to incorporate a sense of motion and life into each piece, and where possible, to slide in a little bit of humor one often sees or sometimes imagines while watching animals. For most of my sculptures, I like to let them run free by not mounting them on a formal base. I want to imbue the impression that they may have just wandered into their space and thus may also move about when you’re not looking.

Common to all my work is my style of armature. It is in making the armature that I find the most excitement. Steel wire has a wonderful fluidity to it. As I bend the steel, whether it be chicken wire, straight wire, or rolled steel, the animal's motion, essence, and life is captured. From these, different mediums allow me to express this life in different ways. The paper used in papier mache brings a warmth and enables fine detail. Adding washes of color to the papier mache increases its depth and realism. Bronze allows me to focus on form and texture whereas ferro-concrete highlights the basic nature of the animal.