ARTIST'S STATEMENT

My compulsion to create three dimensional forms is not unlike that which motivates other communication. I make things as a way of connecting with others - to know that I am not alone. Searching for new, more effective means to understand shared human experiences is my passion. My subjects are meant to strike a sympathetic cord or make sense of a confusing experience - to nurture commonality not foment controversy. As a result the basic theme of my work grows out of personal experiences that are not uncommon. Giving visible expression to private sentiments validates them. When I can grab hold of "joy" or walk around "sorrow", a delightful dimension is added by sharing space with it. I want my audience to be able to participate in that with me. An expressionistic, spontaneity is the goal of my work - communicating unbridled emotion in stubborn steel or bronze. The incongruities of raw feeling and unmoving metal are consisitent with human experience. When the unyielding properties of iron give way to the heat of my torch into a form that communicates freedom, then it gives hope for me that obstinate human nature can be liberated as well.