ARTIST STATEMENT
Entelechy: the realization of potential
Carving stone into something evocative is like conjuring magic. Each piece of marble holds endless potential just waiting to be revealed through cutting, chiseling, sanding, and polishing — until something entirely new stands in place of what was once an unremarkable block.
Frustrating at times, exasperating frequently and exhilarating occasionally, the quest to imagine and reveal what awaits inside each stone drives me onward. To create beauty from the ordinary and forge an emotional connection with the viewer—a shared experience—is the ultimate reward.
One of the fun things about stone sculpting is the opportunity to imagine what lies beneath. Seeing a raw block of stone –each unique—offers the chance to create something new, something beautiful, something that connects us. Bringing out that beauty can be maddening, exhausting and exasperating…but when it all comes together and the piece is complete sometimes there is true harmony. What a treasure it is to realize where it all began and, having endured several hundred small decisions along the way, where it has come!
An artist never really feels like a piece is finished. We see all the imperfections, the curves that could have been a bit broader or the fissures that could have been slightly shallower. But in the end, there must be a piece of art…however imperfect. And then the quest begins again…. What to say? What can be done? What shape does this stone “want” to be? And so it goes….
Carving in marble is both exhilarating and frustrating. Finding and revealing beauty from within an otherwise ordinary appearing stone and sharing that beauty with others makes the difficult task worthwhile.