I create sculptures exploring themes of the hybrid and psychological, with a sensitivity toward everyday materials. I study, experiment, and then exploit my materials’ range and imagine their secret lives. The resulting forms are fantastical, delicate, playful, whimsical -- though also potentially ominous as if they have a strange intelligence that could wreak havoc in the studio when the lights are turned off.
My process starts with collecting everyday supplies used to build, plumb, clean or provide warmth and decoration. Some materials are natural, such as raw wool and natural plant dyes. Others are mass produced. All are equally beautiful to me: buffer elements appear as delicate doilies, window screening evokes hand-weaving and copper tubing bends like a vine. Intermingling and proliferation result in new hybrid forms: the hardware store joins the handmade, the industrial marries the domestic, building supplies become animated.
My materials and processes reflect my childhood. My mother was born on a sheep farm and loved to work with wool. She was also a seamstress. My father managed a textile factory and was always tinkering with machines and building contraptions in our garage. My heritage gives me a natural intimacy with textiles as well as an instinct to experiment with the materials surrounding me and explore their potential.