I hunt and gather: in my mother’s basement storage of lace curtains, eBay for weathered fabrics or old wood type, old books and magazines for words or phrases or images that strike meaning or discord. These are my sources of inspiration. When I find these ingredients, either by chance or by purpose, I am sometimes not sure at the onset of their use. What will this serafed lower case “t” become? This yellowed lace has a lovely texture but where will it best be used? Set aside these magazines that may be good sources for images one day. Items that sit for months in my studio all eventually have their turn.
The series of large woodcuts, particularly Bertha’s Curtains, are an example of using the lace from my mother as a printed texture and attaching it to another printed image. I’d had that lace for some time, and the printed image for a while as well. It just took some time to see the two together as a pair. My prints reference hands, not as an act of placidly surrendering, but of giving oneself to a higher force (whatever that force may be) and not feeling that every thing, every little detail has be to be controlled. Happy mistakes, kismet, fate.. . or as my father would say (with a sigh and shrug of his shoulders) “sh*t happens.” In my life and in my art, I try to recognize those occurrences and allow them to lead my creativity.
My work has been shown in a number of juried, group and solo exhibitions in the Boston area, as well as Chicago, Iowa (where I attended grad school) and internationally. I currently live in Arlington with my wife, and many animals.
