Artist Statement
Since my early childhood, I have moved home and country, collecting impressions of organic forms which find their way into my art. These experiences of displacement and adaptation have taught me that art can be a source of stability and healing, channeling healthy impulses toward growth and renewal.
From the subtle curve of an animal's back to the billowing waves of a hillside, part living creature and part elemental nature, my work often morphs elements together, giving life to mythological trees, sea-waves with human heads, singing spirals, and half-leaf, half-human reclining forms that speak to our interconnectedness and resilience.
As a child growing up in the countryside, I was accustomed to finding only handmade things at home, from embroidered quilts and leather shoes to the soap we used. The handicrafts lifestyle in a family and village of craftsmen led me to my hands-on and nature-inspired approach to art, but more importantly, it showed me how creating with our hands can foster community bonds and collective healing.
In past work as an art therapist, I watched as clients recreated their self-image simply by modeling clay or painting, thereby integrating a newfound sense of self with their present life. I learned that stories shape us, but by working with our hands, we might reshape them—transforming narratives of struggle into ones of strength and possibility. This process of reshaping the organic world into something fresh and equally "living" becomes an empowering experience that helps the human spirit triumph over adversity.
In my sculpture practice, I aim to give expression to the fascinating worlds of life forces, soul qualities, and individual gestures in manifold biomorphic forms that inspire healthy impulses and social connection. Working with different materials, I extract pure-form elements, such as convex and concave, from natural figures and objects, freeing them from prior associations and meanings while imbuing them with new possibilities for healing and growth.
A flower or a simple leaf can become a source of inspiration for surfaces varying in shape and movement, which combine to create something new—a metaphor for how we can transform challenges into sources of strength. With a rounded starting point, I add on a variety of disparate angles, diverse curves, and twisting planes. I bring out particular tensions and transitions, gradually enlivening the form and imbuing it with feeling and personality that speaks to our capacity for renewal and adaptation.
From the introduction of Metamorphosis by J. W. Goethe, it reads, "He came to see in the leaf the germ of a plant's metamorphosis—'the true Proteus who can hide or reveal himself in all plant forms'—from the root and stem leaves to the calyx and corolla, to pistil and stamens." All forms are connected and can morph from one to the other, just as we can transform our experiences of adversity into wisdom, strength, and compassion for others.
My personal inquiry into the human condition finds its expression in abstract sculptures that encourage social healing and community connection. A theme is explored through a metamorphic red thread in each series, in forms inspired by nature and archetypes that remind us of our shared humanity and collective resilience.
In the abstract sculptures I create, the viewer is free to imagine their own worlds and create their personal meaning, finding within these forms a reflection of their own capacity to overcome challenges and contribute to the healing of their community. Through this process, art becomes not just personal expression, but a catalyst for empowering the human spirit and fostering the healthy impulses that bind us together in our shared journey toward wholeness.
From the subtle curve of an animal's back to the billowing waves of a hillside, part living creature and part elemental nature, my work often morphs elements together, giving life to mythological trees, sea-waves with human heads, singing spirals, and half-leaf, half-human reclining forms that speak to our interconnectedness and resilience.
As a child growing up in the countryside, I was accustomed to finding only handmade things at home, from embroidered quilts and leather shoes to the soap we used. The handicrafts lifestyle in a family and village of craftsmen led me to my hands-on and nature-inspired approach to art, but more importantly, it showed me how creating with our hands can foster community bonds and collective healing.
In past work as an art therapist, I watched as clients recreated their self-image simply by modeling clay or painting, thereby integrating a newfound sense of self with their present life. I learned that stories shape us, but by working with our hands, we might reshape them—transforming narratives of struggle into ones of strength and possibility. This process of reshaping the organic world into something fresh and equally "living" becomes an empowering experience that helps the human spirit triumph over adversity.
In my sculpture practice, I aim to give expression to the fascinating worlds of life forces, soul qualities, and individual gestures in manifold biomorphic forms that inspire healthy impulses and social connection. Working with different materials, I extract pure-form elements, such as convex and concave, from natural figures and objects, freeing them from prior associations and meanings while imbuing them with new possibilities for healing and growth.
A flower or a simple leaf can become a source of inspiration for surfaces varying in shape and movement, which combine to create something new—a metaphor for how we can transform challenges into sources of strength. With a rounded starting point, I add on a variety of disparate angles, diverse curves, and twisting planes. I bring out particular tensions and transitions, gradually enlivening the form and imbuing it with feeling and personality that speaks to our capacity for renewal and adaptation.
From the introduction of Metamorphosis by J. W. Goethe, it reads, "He came to see in the leaf the germ of a plant's metamorphosis—'the true Proteus who can hide or reveal himself in all plant forms'—from the root and stem leaves to the calyx and corolla, to pistil and stamens." All forms are connected and can morph from one to the other, just as we can transform our experiences of adversity into wisdom, strength, and compassion for others.
My personal inquiry into the human condition finds its expression in abstract sculptures that encourage social healing and community connection. A theme is explored through a metamorphic red thread in each series, in forms inspired by nature and archetypes that remind us of our shared humanity and collective resilience.
In the abstract sculptures I create, the viewer is free to imagine their own worlds and create their personal meaning, finding within these forms a reflection of their own capacity to overcome challenges and contribute to the healing of their community. Through this process, art becomes not just personal expression, but a catalyst for empowering the human spirit and fostering the healthy impulses that bind us together in our shared journey toward wholeness.