Along the Way
Art making is a journey and a prayer. Although the results matters, it is being with the raw materials, the discovery of relationship, message or form that drive me. Decisions are made, but I do not censor. Rather I am awake to possibilities and intuitions to guide me in the right direction.
There are no mistakes, only opportunities; no failure, only gained information. I recognize the inherent tension between my idea, my ability, and the tolerances of the materials. This tension becomes a collaboration between myself, the materials and the moment. Thus art-making becomes way-of-life becomes spiritual practice: the hands, mind and body in direct relation to the physical universe, sensing, allowing and willing the materials in a particular direction, while remaining awake to momentary thoughts, sensations and impulses. The work is imbued with awareness of the moment while balancing faith and will, surrender and initiation, receptivity and action.
Both the materials and themes of my work are varied. Exploring new media and techniques keeps it fresh. Recurring themes are history, family lineage and lost ancestry, the body, wounding and healing, love and spirit, and the natural world. My work is informed by a sense of social consciousness and political responsibility. I care about life, people, trees, dirt, bees and seek to communicate and inspire this in others through imagery and metaphor.
I am a folk artist more than a fine artist and while I seek to master my craft I view my work as ephemeral and my person expendable. I am a temporary vehicle for the craft to move through. Though I have both shown and sold my work, I have chosen to keep my art-making primarily independent of my livelihood. Patronage influences the work, moving it away from authentic self-expression and towards the tastes and preferences of the patron.
My process as an artist mirrors my process in life. Eschewing the forces of mundanity I strive to remain in a state of curiosity, inquiry and play; to approach what is in front of me with equity and love. Good life and good art require me to be with what is, whether painful, ecstatic or both, and to respond with honesty and authenticity. Being awake brings this moment into the next moment, and into the next moment, and ultimately into the cycle of time: life, death, rebirth and all that is sacred and dear.