Studio Practice
Away from the excitement of foundry, my studio practice is quiet and solitary. My personal work is an inquiry into the world around me, a way to try to understand and experience the complexity of humanity and to simplify complicated concepts through the human form. My work embodies subtle emotional impacts rather than overt movements. Academic study of the human form and anatomy over many years enables me to work my figures without the use of live models. This encourages complete freedom to converse with the clay, and let the forms convey my experience without the intrusion of personality. Ideally there is only one personality in the room - that of the sculpture.
I started teaching when my daughter was young. I loved parenting so much and gladly let my studio practice slow down to embrace motherhood and ultimately homeschooling. Teaching helped me to stay connected with the art community. Now that she is older I am regaining my studio practice and re-connecting with a sculpture-gallery-art world that has changed tremendously. Through my experiences of parenting and teaching I have grown and matured as a person and sculptor. Because of this I and am excited and prepared for my next journey.
Why The Nude
I went to art school to study the nude, encouraged by artist parents who were deep rooted in traditional art training. And I fell in love. I fully expected however, that as I grew and developed as a sculptor, over time my work would morph and change. Perhaps at some future point, I may be abstracting the figure, or working more loosely with the forms, or not even working with the figure at all. But thirty plus years later I am still in love with the nude and all it represents and offers.
When showing my work to friends, acquaintances and so forth, I often sense that people are mystified by the choice of the nude as a vehicle of expression. Perhaps they are embarrassed by it. Hinting at a general fear of nudity here in the U.S. and an inability to distinguish between sexuality and sensuality. However, it is not hard to understand. Whether they admit it or not, everyone can relate to the figure. I love it because I cannot exhaust the possibilities it presents to me. The nude is completely honest, the "naked truth". Embarrassingly so sometimes. There is no place to hide. That is what it is all about for me. To expose my investigations in the most authentic and genuine way I know. To touch a nerve, share an emotion and possibly connect with the viewer. For me - that's wy the nude.