My work is an adventure in metal. I explore many aspects of metal working, including metal fabrication with metal alloys, traditional blacksmithing, horseshoeing, sculpture, functional art, and commissioned work. I have developed an understanding of the medium that allows me to explore the complexity of large-scale pieces. My passion for organic shapes and inspiration from the natural world lends itself to engineering and building structurally sound sculptures that exhibit natural motion. The scale becomes a perspective that creates a kind of poetic justice on behalf of the natural world, making humans feel smaller by comparison. My art is meant to be touched, and one of my greater goals is to make large installation pieces for children to play on. I know I have succeeded with a sculpture when it fosters a growth of imagination in the viewer, giving them a sense of scale and the surprise of seeing natural shapes wrought from steel. Steel is, of course, both a natural and an industrially made material. So, while my work borrows from the organic, it also remains in dialogue with the industrial.

 

My motto is “If you can dream it, I can build it!” The hard and dirty work on the anvil and in the metal shop is a labor of love for me. I put a lot of time into the process of creating each individual piece. When building sculpture, I try to keep the integrity of the artwork, even on the smaller pieces, because each one is both a one-of-a-kind piece and a reflection of my dreams; nothing is cut from a mold and merely hammered or colored differently. When I make scrap-metal animals, I don’t order pieces in bulk and churn out multiples; I take my time going through the process of finding the objects I need and putting each animal together, one at a time. So, each piece I make is an original and unique drawing on metal and is put together like no other piece in the world, and each piece holds something of my life experiences and work, from rescuing animals to finding ways to give back to my community.

 

I strive to stay positively connected to my community, both locally and globally, and this endeavor mirrors what I see in the world and also allows me to define “community” in my own ways. Working with the Peace Corps in the Philippines gave me an amazing view of what artists’ roles in our communities and in the larger society can be. I feel like I am functioning positively in those roles when I help others, whether it is through my art or through my participation in community activities. I try to live the vision of my art, and to live through my art, in ways that show life as something beautiful.