Totem      Artist and Woodcarver

Artist Statement

The geometric forms that I return to in my carvings and drawings, combined with a sometimes wandering line, come from my love of nature and how that is reflected in indigenous design and ceremony. My eyes see a world of vitality, spirit, and endless intrigue in the natural world. In the last few years I have also found an appreciation for jazz, which I find myself completely absorbed in. This influence has definitely brought about a shift in my work. It contributes to the heart of my current work.

I have for some time been interested in indigenous design, and sensibility, especially from Africa and Oceania, as well as the Americas. This current body of work including carvings, drawings, and performance all owe something to my interest in other cultures. These cultures all share a pronounced reverence for the natural world, and have developed over time highly stylized imagery to represent it. In making art I am largely a process person. Working with wood is special in this way, as it is a very sensory media. Some of my carvings have come from trees that I have cut down, sawed into boards, dried, listened to, sketched upon, and eventually carved. The connection is strong.

Currently, my work can be found at Freed Gallery in Lincoln City, Oregon, Bush Barn in Salem, Oregon, Mary Lou Zeek Gallery in Salem, Oregon or by appointment in my studio between Portland and the Oregon coast.  I am very interested in commissions in which my work would exist in architectural settings, be it as door surrounds, support poles, headers, beams, mantles, etc. Contact me for a consultation.