Artist Statement:

My relationship to the world is more visual and conceptual than analytical, fulfilling my need for balance, random or structured. I take shapes, textures and colors from my environment: the jagged edges of a solidified lava flow, the strength of towers of basalts, the sweeping curve of a freeway overpass, the sparkle of city lights at night, or the soft colors of the flowers in my garden.

With these elements I then rely on math to balance and integrate them into my designs. A reflection of my training as a precision tool maker, my early designing began with very accurate, detailed drawings and precise hard lines with tight dimensions. Now 40 years later, I’ve lightened up! All that tight precision has evolved into looser conceptual forms, developing ideas spontaneously while working metal into shapes, a process akin to moving from a well-rehearsed complex Mozart concerto to an improvisational Jazz piece.

A painter interprets what they see with brush strokes applied to canvas for us to see. I apply hammer strokes to metal, shaping my visual idea into an object to see, feel and wear. Most importantly, I try to work by my rule: “It’s fine to go to bed at night with my dreams, but I wake in the morning with a purpose!”