Material is central to my art form. I strive to use Earthen materials in my work. Mostly hand-gathered alabaster as well as marble, granite, wood, bone, hide, seed. It is a physical avoidance of the abstract and conceptual. I do not seek to represent in my work. My agenda is process oriented. To be with material in the process of bringing it to its highest level of integrity. To create beautiful form which is the product of that dance between two beings, the beingness of the stone and the mindfulness of my hands. Then, the relationship expands into a triad, the user/collector becomes a participant in the dance.

Industrial production interrupts the relationship between the three participants. By turning the object into a reproduced representation of a concept, its preciousness is lost. I don’t measure in my work. I don’t start from a block or geometry, but the shape and character of each piece of material I work.

From childhood I have been fascinated and formed by the power of objects. Collections of small shapes, precious treasures, pet rocks, sentimental bolts. Objects themselves assume and are imbibed with the energy and intentions of their makers and users. Ket ancestor dolls in Syberia. The shofar and menorah. Lingam Stones.

The majority of my work explores the vessel form. Simple. Archetypal. It is one of the foundational forms that we have been making forever. You could make a bowl a day for a life and never repeat yourself. I enjoy the confines of a form to explore variation.

Alabaster is translucent. It has always been used to carry light. My pieces become ceremonial vessels. Keeping the fire is a most ancient tradition. Lit by candle, each bowl becomes a gravitational force in a dark room, warming the space. They take on a shimming warmth and quiet stillness. They are participatory works, wanting to be held, lit, moved. The work finds its home in altar spaces, sanctuaries and sacred spaces as often as providing a beautiful decorative centerpiece to a room.