Eagle's Journey-13"D x 6.5"H-Myrtle, copper, silver, gold
I began these explorations as a furniture maker. My studies at the Anderson Ranch Art Center exposed me to many of the masters of this craft, and gave me not only technical skills but also an appreciation for craft as a design statement and an expression of one's own personal vision of architecture on a small and human scale. These classes were built upon with further design studies at UCLA.
I have been actively turning since 1980. This area of woodworking allows me to use beautiful woods to design within the constraints of the vessel form. I enjoy the interplay of form and function while utilizing the graphic and tactile qualities of the wood to create vessels which engage the viewer and encourage connection with function and beauty.
The visual elements of the bowls often remind me of landscapes which range from desert scenes to the rich earth of the northeast. By working the texture of the wood and adding to its tactile richness, I hope to accentuate this connection to the land and its myriad visual experiences.
My forms have been heavily influenced by classical ceramics. The vessels of ancient China and Korea have a beauty which is timeless. I have also been influenced by the modern ceramic community and its tendency to explore and push the medium to new levels of expression. In the last analysis, however, it is the visceral excitement of "opening" a new piece of wood which continually renews my senses and provokes my interest. As I get deeper into a new block and discover its grain and figure, I more and more appreciate Michelangelo's descriptions of his feeling as the marble gave way to the beautiful forms he found "trapped" within.
Scimitar-5.5"H x 5"D.- Maple burl, silver, gold. Textured rim.
Chocolat-12"D x 8.5"H-spalted black acacia, copper, silver, gold
Sunspot-8.5"H x 6.5"D - Mesquite, copper, silver, gold. Partially textured rim
Eye Turn-6"H x 4"D-Thuya burl, copper, silver, gold.