I work as a sculptor, architect, and craftsman in Olympia, Washington, and as a faculty member in 3D visual arts and design at The Evergreen State College. My sculptural and architectural works are in communities and public and private collections across the United States, including Maine, New York State, North Carolina, Wisconsin, and Washington State. Originally from Wisconsin, I earned my Bachelors in Art and Master of Architecture degrees from the University of Minnesota, and later, a Master of Fine Arts degree from the School of American Crafts at the Rochester Institute of Technology. I have had a long association with Penland School of Crafts in North Carolina. I count potter Warren Mackenzie, woodworker Doug Sigler, sculptor Verena Schwippert, and architect John Bero among my most important mentors, for their deep knowledge, skill and commitment to their crafts as means of expression, stewardship, and service.

Currently, I favor direct carving of wood and stone in much of my studio and public artwork. I search for visual metaphors, through extensive research into the ecologies, histories, and peoples of project locales, and lots of drawing. In recent works I’ve used imagery of landforms, pathways, houses, and the body to meditate on place and displacement, solitude and separateness, breath and time. I’m often drawn to horizontal forms – they can be less static and more engaged with the space and people around them. I like the process of shaping. I work in dialogue with the natural shaping already present in the materials. I aim for fullness of forms, economy of means, and allusive power. I believe it’s a privilege to be a maker of things.

While my sculpture, architecture, and craft works can differ widely in scale and intent, I find commonality in their material presence and character as embodied experiences, in the making and in their use. My recent large, multi-part, granite public art installations in Maine and Washington State typify my efforts to make very site-specific, multi-part works, each with a strong metaphoric and visual presence; works that can be experienced through sight and touch, movement, and proprioception and that arise out of careful research and listening. In these works, I’m very interested in the power of forms to express essential messages about both personal and communally held ideals, and the ability of these forms to create a strong sense of place – works that are physically and visually compelling, and that become landmarks and gathering points in those communities.