I have an artistic education that began watching my grandmother paint in her tiny art shop on a side street in Oakland, California. She painted canvas, wood, china, and more. She worked as a full-time artist and created an enormous impression on a small boy who would otherwise have spent his time watching afternoon television. I was fascinated by her ability to create a story with only color and lines; to perform the magic of changing a teacup from a plain white utilitarian vessel to a decorated piece that caused sounds of glee when chosen by a customer. I treasure the paintings and China dishes my grandmother decorated. They are a prominent part of my home.
My father also displayed artistic talent, carving a variety of characters from his favorite literature. He used different tools, to be certain. Chainsaws, chisels, rasps and paint brushes all found a place in his shop. He too allowed me to watch him create from his head and heart. His carvings of St. Francis, Don Quixote, the Knight Templar, and a full tiki head are all proudly displayed in my studio.
My elementary and high school years were all punctuated by art classes, projects, and my personal sketch books and paintings filled with athletes, monsters, heroes, and a few villains.
My first college classes helped me understand that my interests were simple, art and sports. I worked hard to be successful in both. Much of my artwork in my college years depicted my favorite sports and athletes. College was also when I created by first stonework, hands holding a rock, depicted in soapstone.
In 2002 I began working for Visalia Granite and Marble, and in 2006 I attended my first rock carving clinic, called Rock Camp, in Elberton Georgia. Here I found the challenge and expression I had been seeking. The first step was learning the tools needed to carve granite. These tools are specialized and somewhat expensive. Acquiring the tools was a journey on its own, with each new acquisition bringing a list of skills and techniques that opened new possibilities in my work.
Since that time, I have attended multiple carving clinics, voted best in show by my fellow students, watched hours of videos, experimented, and reached a new level of expressing myself in granite. I will continue this path as there is so much to learn and so little time.
I work across several types of media, but for several years I have most enjoyed working in stone and wood. Artwork created from stone and wood are durable. These pieces invite people to reach out and touch them. Placed indoors or outside, these pieces remain essentially the same while continuing to bring smiles, confusion, or the sense of “rightness” that is so strong that a person chooses to make it a part of their world by taking it home.
In sharing a retrospective of my work, I am inviting viewers to see where I began my artistic pathway and to follow along as my view of the world, and my artwork changed. These pieces display moments of my life, my perspective, what I had learned, had yet to learn, and most importantly, what my best efforts looked like in that moment.