Thoughts about my sculptures

Precisely articulating what my sculptures mean to me would be difficult, but I can say that sometimes they seem like tools, and sometimes they seem like gris-gris, which I guess is another kind of tool. I often envision these objects in a scene with people -- sort of a still-life with gris-gris. Sometimes I think of the sculptures as relics from a cave of a future religion, as stage props for a theater work, or as tools of a ancient science. Often I just really like their shapes.

I have been sculpting for about 25 years. I have had little formal art training but I have picked up many useful ideas and techniques by talking with and observing others, by reading, from a weekend workshop with a very cool artist, Sam Hernandez, and of course trial and error.

I get most of my wood in one of three ways: I buy some, friends give me pieces, and I find some. I prefer the last two because they give me a fun connection with my materials - I enjoy thinking about "this is the piece of wood Joe gave me", or telling someone "this piece came from a tree near your house". Fir, Redwood, Pine, Oak, Maple, Elm, Willow, Ivy, and Mahogany are some of the types of wood I have used. I also use a lot of woods about which I know nothing.