Stop. Look. Enjoy.
Herein lies a million tiny moments
A story made of stone.
I have an innate curiosity about what I can create with stone, and what feelings I can elicit from others as they connect with my sculptures. Ultimately, I want to provide people with a meaningful and lasting connection to nature in their home or yard through my work.
Concepts for my sculptures flow from the structure of the stone. My processes bring forth textures, colors, shadows and grains to create feeling within three dimensional sculptures and relief carvings.
The initial idea for each piece comes from the features within the stone I select. This might include layering, vein work, mineral composition, or the story wrapped up in its process of formation. Every step is informed by a deep understanding of stone structure and composition, from a formal education in geology.
My sculptural forms range across pleasing bowl shapes that provide a window into the hidden nature of the rock, to forms of elaborate, realistic, abstract, and mixed media stone and clay pieces.
I use traditional sculpting methods, including hand tools such as hammers and chisels, rasps and files, and sand paper. When necessary I use electric drills, angle grinders, reciprocating saws, and rotary tools with abrasive edges selected for the particular texture each imparts. When appropriate, pieces are completed with polishing oils and specialized waxes.
I am pleased to have lived a life deeply connected to stone; from early childhood stone collections, to academic studies in geology, to recreational mountain climbing, to teaching the story of Appalachian Mountain formation, to my passion for highlighting the natural structure and composition of everyday rock. There is a great pleasure that comes from the feel, the weight, and the look of stone.
In all cases I want my work to be thought provoking and educational. I develop pieces to spur conversation and open the doorway to learning about rock and my concept for the form sculpted.