“Reflecting faith, hope and beauty through art.”
I have had a passion for clay and sculpture for as long as I can remember. Though I grew up in a very technical and computer oriented family, some of my fondest memories are of summer pottery classes at the local art museum. In college, I took a turn toward mathematics and computer science, and over the next 35 years, I followed a fulfilling and profitable career as a Software Engineer. However, I never forgot my love for sculpture.
I am still amazed by the pure joy I experience when I have my hands in the clay. I find that my work communicates on many different levels, from the practical and utilitarian to a simple reflection of the beauty I see around me. It may expresses a response of hope or fear or love, or it may be a simply reflection the little kid inside of me at play. For me, clay and sculpture become a language to express thoughts, emotions, or insights for which I have no words.
As much as I love to create with clay, I also love to teach others to experience that same joy. Young people are naturally drawn to clay, even when their technical skills are simple. With a little bit of instruction and encouragement, they quickly gain the confidence that they too can create something of value. Clay is such a malleable material that the art flows naturally from their active imaginations.
The underlying thread in my journey has been growing to understand what it looks like to integrate the truth of my relationship with Christ and my expression as an artist. I am learning to let my creative process develop in such a way that it reflects the complicated dynamic of my Faith–something which is not always pretty or positive or well understood, but which carries underneath it the reality of Hope.
