Artist Statement

In my childhood I was drawn to nature. The allure of variety, elegance and mystery captured my attention. As I matured analytical science had become the requisite tool that promised to reveal “how”. I was encouraged by family and society to follow this path of certainty and stability. I enthusiastically enjoyed seeking the “how“ of anything and everything. The history and state of manifestation. The His-story; in the measurable and quantifiable facets of creation. Structured God. It was a lot but not enough.

Ever restless within me was an innate longing for the eternal quest and the question of “why”. The perpetual wonder for the mystery. The Miss-story in the immeasurable qualities in creation. Fluid Goddess. The yin to the yang of the Tao. With honor for science and reverence for art: left brain & right brain, analytical & conceptual, masculine & feminine, rock & roll. Divinity seeking Humanity seeking Divinity seeking Self.

By grace it turns out that as I am a person that is now “late middle aged”. I find myself in society and comfortably engrossed in nature, spirit and the creative process. Like many that pursue their life as an independent artist, especially outside academia, it is a struggle to maintain oneself financially. Twenty-five years in my home/studio in Tennessee afforded me the time to do creative work consistently. Although I developed and produced a large number of mail art and frottáge pieces from the late 70’s to the mid 90’s I was never able to gain a significant opening that would further the work. I had been exploring concrete since the mid 80’s and by the early 1990’s my focus turned entirely to medium of wet carved concrete, supplemented by the continuing crap labor to sustain myself.

My pieces were functional at first, mostly stepping stones and planters. I had some success in the late 1980’s in California but very little back home in Tennessee. It was in 1999, after I joined the Tennessee Association of Craft Artist and had a booth at the Tennessee Craft Fair in Nashville, that my income from concrete became my primary source of income. Although the work is physically hard, it continues to be fulfilling because my passion is the means by which I am sustained and nurtured. This is enough but I strive to keep it ever fresh and unfolding.

What I discovered after making one thing and then another over a number of years was that my skill and technique had become refined to the point where I could make whatever I imagined. With this understanding variation in style became commonplace. The large pieces were very engaging and primarily a challenge in execution as well as design. The steps and pots, which I now consider as sketches, keep me active with the medium and provide unique, affordable pieces for certain income. The best thing that has happened to me for exposure is being featured in the two books by Sherrie Warner Hunter. Creating with Concrete, 2001 and Creating Concrete Ornaments for the Garden, 2005 by Lark-Sterling Books. This has established me as “the guy” concerning the technique of wet carved concrete.

For the past few years I have been making sculpture, mostly figurative. There have been sweet spots all along the way but the more I enter this area of pure sculpture the more I feel the sweetest part of the creative dance. Looking back I see how my developed craft has unfolded and metamorphosed into aesthetic art. Here is where the best happens. The image glimpses. Intuitive flow. Humbling mistakes. My expression.

In 2010 I met Carol and moved to the mountains of western North Carolina. I have produced a few works here and have made a few on site pieces around the property. My main focus has been on traveling and teaching the wet carved technique. I'm glad to say that a few people that have taken the workshop have continued carving concrete. They have produced some amazing pieces. All for their on private spaces, so far.

Contents| Sandpudding Studio
Sculpture | Planters | Large Works | Steps | Recent Works
Resumé | Wet Carved Concrete | Two Dimensional Gallery
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