Red Lodge Clay Center – Short-Term Resident 2024
Originally from Peoria, Illinois, I moved to Arizona to attend architecture school at Arizona State University in 1977. I am an architect transformed to artist.I work in a variety of mediums and materials. My primary 2D medium is watercolor, but I also create mixed media mono-prints.
My favorite sculptural medium to create 3D sculpture is clay. This work has evolved over time from earth-block rock formations to form studies to anthropomorphic /zoomorphic hybrid creatures. My current work is a study of animal forms. I am creating a family portrait narrative integrating chickens, javelinas and other combinations of animal attributes. The work is whimsical, graphic and colorful.
The work I create is often inspired by my travels. I am privileged to have been selected to participate in artist residencies at Zion National Park, the Skopelos Foundation in Greece, C.R.E.T.A. in Rome, Paradise Valley Community College mural project, Aire Vallauris, France and Lagavatn, Iceland. Next up is Red Lodge Clay in Montana.
My commissioned work includes official artist of the Prescott Jazz Sung Blues Festival, the Estrella Mountain Jazz Festival, Tres Rios public art sculpture in Avondale, 5 large mosaic murals to Park West Mall in Glendale ,3 large steel mural for the Fun Factory in Yuma and 2 large murals for “Flite” which is the Goodyear Aerospace campus and previous navel air station located in Goodyear, AZ.
My current project explores the fusion of family narrative and the concept of the trophy wall, blending them into whimsical wall portraits and 3D sculptures in clay. Drawing inspiration from my love of sculpting whimsical animals with anthropomorphic features, I aim animate these creatures with costumes and accessories, transforming these sculptural pieces into narrative driven works.
I craft pieces that resonate with the homemade charm of folk art while embracing a tapestry of color and pattern to animate their surfaces. Printmaking techniques are explored using transferred lino-cut techniques. The journey will told through playful and absurd versions of chickens and javelinas incorporating other animal attributes. Each sculpture crafted embodies a unique blend of abstraction and stylization, bringing to life these hybrid creatures.