For many years I was a wood carver, making copies of the wonderful masks and bowls of Northwest Coast indigenous peoples. I switched to sculpting clay in order to gain freedom to experiment. Wood is the wrong material for experimenting, or for sculpting the human figure, the subject that attracted me.

My sculptures usually require four to six sessions with a model. The poses themselves can come from anywhere: a magazine photo, a dance performance, my imagination, or working together with a model. These sessions are followed by additional time spent refining the sculpture's surface and details. If I’m working in water-based clay, it is then fired in a kiln to at least 2100 degrees. At this temperature, clay is transformed into ceramic or terracotta. The fired piece is either left unchanged or is coated with actual bronze or copper powders that can give the look of weathered metal. All of these pieces are one-of-a-kind. If the sculpture is modeled in oil-based clay, however, as it must be for standing figures, a mold is fashioned and then filled with a permanent material, usually bronze. These pieces can be reproduced in editions.

The sculptures shown in this website celebrate the human body's infinite variety of curves and volumes, intriguing shadows, and dramatic tensions. Unlike some contemporary art, they are not statements about social or political issues. They avoid cuteness and sentimentality and aim for unique poses that provide unexpected visual experiences. Ideally, viewers will have the opportunity to move around the pieces, to enjoy them as three-dimensional objects in space.

The human body has been the principle focus of artists since the first sculpture was created in prehistoric times. Yet, even thousands of years later, the best figure sculpture can still surprise and delight. I hope to create works of art that generate these same feelings.