Photo Credit - Erich Ziller, Eastman's West

My sculptures, like people, are products of their environment. I'm often asked what inspires me or influences my work. Frequently, it's not until well after a piece has been completed that I understand the finer points of what motivated me.

Similarly, in our environment we are rarely aware of the importance of what may seem like insignificant elements. Yet when one of these elements is missing, or added, it can have dramatic effects on our lives. For example, recently while driving along the Emeryville shoreline of the San Francisco Bay, I suddenly realized that the sculptures in the "mudflats" were gone! I had known for years that they were no longer permitted but it wasn't until that moment that I became aware of how much I missed them.

When I was growing up, the sculptures in Emeryville were an everyday part of my life. I wasn't aware of their impact on me until they were gone, but exactly how they influenced me I will probably never completely appreciate. Likewise, I can ask how the daily news, two cups of coffee, the barking dog, the obnoxious neighbors or my eleven year olds stunning smile influence my work. I simply don't have the ability to verbally elaborate on their impact, so what I have done is develop a three dimensional vocabulary that I employ in my work.

I look at my daughters and pray they will live in a world where people of differing opinions will work cooperatively. I reflect this hope in sculpture by weaving opposing lines, materials and textures in symbiotic accord.

Perhaps I will want to have a whimsical flight over a marble landscape. I will use a method of carving called direct sculpture where I work directly with the stone and let it guide me. Then, I might imagine I can fly over and through the terrain I've discovered. It's usually during a direct sculpture that I will discover new ways of expressing an emotion or concept. This is only one of the methods I use to continue expanding my vocabulary.

Most of all, my work is about learning. My art is the best attempt I can make at drawing sense from this whirlwind life.

It is my intent to keep learning for a very long time.

September, 1999 - revised January 2003