My interest in the arts surfaced at an early age. I remember being five years old and sitting with my mother to watch the ocean touch the sky. My mothers highly creative and energetic character inspired me ( she was an artist and musician), And I learned from her to use the forces of nature to organize my art.
I began my work with oil paints, which channeled into print making, and finally emerged into my current work in sculpture. Clay is a substance that shifts with the moods of my fingers to shape symmetry in motion. I feel clay is the medium that best captures the sense of dynamic balance and humor that is paramount to life with dogs (particularly our house full of seven English Setters).
Life experience has significantly influenced my style and choice of subject. I have been involved with showing and grooming dogs for over 40 years. This has given me and intimate knowledge of the structure and spirit of the species, inspiring constant exploration of inertia and anatomy. My daily experience has always been close to nature, whether shuttling kayakers or just hiking with my dogs in my back yard, which is in the middle of the Six Rivers National Forest this connection to the wilderness touches my work now more deeply than I could ever have imagined.
I feel intimately connected to each of my pieces. My physical approach to art is very aggressive, and I believe that clay supports this process, reflecting the emotion I release into it. Some of my sculptures ask to be sketched roughly first; others I can seeing the clay before I begin. As my fingers read the fold and lines of the wet mass, my subject is born. It comes to light not always as I have envisioned it, but rather as a synthesis of the energy invested and its own essential character.
My work has been also influenced greatly by the close connection I have with many of my clients. I began my canine sculptures with memorial pieces, and this process significantly impacted all of my depiction's of domestic animals. Discussions of a beloved pet reverberate in the clay, capturing memories and life-like character. During my first opening at Gallery Dog in Eureka, California, I saw how my work attracted young and old, always bringing a smile. This confirmed my belief that the language of love that I put into the process of sculpting is similar to the communication people share with their pets. Each piece touches the public in its own way.