Artist's Statement

My secondary education was initially formal. I studied intensely with Walter Earlbacher to learn traditional figure modeling techniques. The structure of which is still an attraction, and appears in my work. In 1989 at the Lacoste School in France, I had the opportunity to study with sculptor Bernadette D'Amore. Her influence provided new directions for me creatively and spiritually. D'Amore, a Zen Buddhist and student of di Suvero, challenged me to work more abstractly and conceptually. Her teaching encouraged me to develop a symbology for the figurative expression I was drawing from. Upon returning to Philadelphia, I worked with sculptor Alan Greenburg, as a student and assistant. His ambient installations employed both found and constructed objects. Installation spoke to my own interest in implied human presence without direct representation.

After graduating I struggled to find a balance between installation, and figurative/ body based work, which felt like a guilty attachment. I moved to rural Maine in 1992, with the intention of working large scale on outdoor impermanent installations, to resolve the conflict in directional pull. I have lived in Maine for eleven years. I have expanded my skills and the materials I utilize in my work. A stint as a woodworker and furniture designer honed my desire to create well-crafted work. Although generally object based, installation still influences my sculpture. Site and context are very important to my process. Each object in a body of work references the other, and the space to be occupied is an important element in their germination.

The tendency to create work that is visceral, body based, or intuitive, persists. I am drawn to work that offers sensual entry into its exploration. Sensitive use of materials can provide the enchantment to lead one to discover meaning embedded in the work. Intellectual construction should be as seamless as one's adeptness with materials. I am enticed by mystery and illusion in art, but not as a means to mystify. I love to be visually guided into an exploration of an idea. Validation of intuitive processes has been challenging in a cultural environment that emphasizes the linear. I have accepted that the process of integrating the sensual with the intellectual contributes to the richness of my work.

I am currently learning from, and inspired by work of artists such as Janine Antoni, Robert Gober, Ann Hamilton, Rebecca Horn, Kiki Smith, Mona Hatoum, Matthew Barney, Paul McCarthy, Rosemarie Trockle, and Tom Friedman. The artists I revere are able to create work that is primarily conceptual, but holds a visual lushness and allure.

I strive to find a balance between the instinctual and the conceptual in my work. We tend to use the mind to control, but without letting go, access to a larger intelligence is negated. I am interested in the notion of an older, wiser internal knowledge that links human beings with the natural world from which we have assumed such a disconnected position. The exploration of the body-mind split, and the disintegration of boundaries between internal and external realities, inspires my process and my work.

I grope around in the dark trying to find the materials that fit, the imagery that feels intuitive and authentic to my experience, and the meaning that underlie the two. Getting quiet, moving toward the center of the self, and allowing the work to flow, require patience and care. The best work, and the deepest understanding of it emerge from that place of centeredness. I find that from this self-centered place I begin to feel connected to my work, to my environment, and the world as a whole.