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Artist Statement

Years ago, while turning wire into sculptures, I discovered how versatile metal materials could be. I liked the challenge and toughness of working with metal, with its blast of sparks, and balance of success with danger. And then what was welding? With two pieces of unrelated metal, cold and uninteresting by themselves, just watch what happens when you put them together with heat. They begin to glow, get hot, turn red, gold, then suddenly touch, surrender, and flow into each other, becoming one, melded (welded), into one new piece. Sound familiar? That process of attraction emulates others in nature. Metal can be stubborn, yet transformable; a not-for-sissies material -- but flexible under the right conditions. It has unlimited potential for creating and there is always a new way to treat it, though it has been around and worked for eons. When heated, it bends, turns colors, and changes surface texture. It can be enhanced with patinas, scratches, pounding, chemicals, or just water, or just left in its original, smooth state. It retains beauty when cared for, and with neglect it takes on even more interesting natural effects. Metals may require brute strength or power tools to form their shapes; then sometimes they just show you the ways they want to move, much like a horse does. They help the artist to go with the flow, which is their nature.

By recycling metals or other materials and redefining their purpose, they get new lives as sculptures. Now, I may fantasize what that furious storm would look like in steel -- in fiber, clay, or vines? What if a form kept growing or flowing into an uncontrollable mass of exaggerated movement? This is such a contrast to my first career as a business consultant. While observations and insights are still key in my work, what I do with them now is more liberating and evocative. My Entropy series reacts to our society, our environment; or to cultural values put on trial. In life and in art, ideas translated into my art forms call attention to disputed concepts, promote awareness, or plant seeds for change.

Education

          Michigan State University, East Lansing, MI -- B.A. Psychology
          Fielding Institute, Santa Barbara, CA -- graduate studies Psychology/Business
          College of Marin, Kentfield, CA -- Art, Design, Sculpture, Fiber sculpture programs
          San Francisco Art Institute, San Francisco, CA – Metal Sculpture

Gallery Representation

Kinion Fine Art, Hozho Center, Sedona, Arizona

Affiliations

Marin Arts Council
Fiber Dimensions
EDGE art Group

Public Art

Obelisk commemorating San Anselmo history, participant, San Anselmo, CA 2005

Selected Exhibits

           Herbst International Exhibition Hall at the Presidio of San Francisco: fiber/Dimensions,
            Intersections 4 2008
           DISH Cafe, Presidio, San Francisco, fiber/Dimensions Cafe Show 2008
           Presidio Social Club, San Francisco, fiber/Dimensions Cafe Show 2008
           DiRosa Preserve, Napa, CA, Slideslam 2008
           Arts Benicia, Benicia, CA, EDGE
           Smith Ranch Gallery, San Rafael, CA, fiber/Dimensions 2008
           ACCI Gallery, Berkeley, CA, EDGE Art Group at ACCI Gallery
           Marin Arts Festival, Marin Civic Center, San Rafael, CA June 2007
           ACCI Gallery, Recovery, Berkeley, CA 2007
           Herbst International Exhibition Hall, Presidio, San Francisco: fiber/Dimensions Intersections III 2006
           Pence Gallery, fiber/Dimensions at Pence, Davis, CA Spring 2006
           Artisans Gallery, Absolutely Abstract Exhibit, San Rafael, CA 2006
           Marin Society of Artists, Open Sculpture & Crafts,  Juried, Ross, CA 1998 - 2006
           O’Hanlon Center for the Arts, Buzz,  Mill Valley, CA 2005
           California Ceramic Artists Annual Exhibits, Davis, CA 2004, 2005
           Art of Politics Juried Exhibit, Democracy For America, Sausalito, CA 2005
           College of Marin Gallery, Fine Arts Exhibits, Kentfield, CA 2002, 2005
           Marin County Fair Juried Fine Arts Exhibit, Terra Linda, CA, Awards, 2004, 2005, 2006
           San Francisco Art Institute, Diego Rivera Gallery, San Francisco, CA Summer 2006