Gallery

Most of my work falls into the category of vessel. This work exemplifies my pursuit of pure form while also highlighting the natural beauty of the wood itself. These pieces can range from organic to classic to contemporary. While I do work with woods that are simply stunning by nature, I tend to gravitate towards woods that would typically be considered junk. Whether the raw material contains spalting, voids, stress cracks, bark inclusions, or other imperfections, I love seeing the transformation from something that was disqualified and cast aside to something beautiful and treasured.

I often work in these bent, hollowed tubes which rely on and accentuate the natural stresses in the wood. I developed these during my first tenure in an art gallery, where I was trying to develop new work that would push the boundaries of traditional wooden vessels. The tubes are eccentric and abstract, giving a very organic and unpredictable feel, while their bent forms offer an alluring mystery as to how they were formed.

There is a moment in the fire where all is lost. It is right at that threshold where extremely high temperatures threaten to consume the work that minerals in the wood begin to change. This series is about finding beauty in ashes. These pieces highlight not just the charcoal black, but the gunmetal grey and slight iridescence that form at high heat. Deeply charred by fire, these pieces capture a raku-like feeling, especially in lighting where metallic highlights emerge. When working with charred wood, I faced the challenge of how to finish the pieces, since the surface char disseminates widely. I found that all of the typical finishes turned the work jet black, losing the ashy raku nature. After many months of experimentation, I was finally able to develop a process that that I was happy with in which the finish I was looking for was retained and kept charcoal from spreading to other surfaces.

The white washed series represents the continuation of my development and discovery of pure form sculpture.

The contemporary and minimalist esthetic of each piece captures the simplicity of the shape, allowing the viewer to appreciate its pure form without the competing color and grain often found in beautiful woods. Their clean lines and pronounced texture draw the viewer in to appreciate the stark beauty of form itself. Displayed on matte black bases, these pieces offer a sharp contrast allowing for a very clean look.

Occasionally I will create more sculptural work, which often includes turned components. Here are some examples of that.