ARTIST STATEMENT

The alteration of light is one of my favorite experiences; I am perpetually fascinated by materials that change light, particularly if color is involved. This has been the case since I can remember; working with glass and encaustic seems natural and reasonable.

Glass is a highly intensive medium with respect to energy and materials; its long-term viability as an artistic medium is not economically sustainable with current technology. As an artist, I feel lucky to be alive at this particular point in human history, and privileged to work with the medium.

I honor the material and the resources it consumes.  My electric furnace uses about half the energy of my previous gas-fired one.  I recycle my shards and seconds into other items as they can’t be easily re-used in blown pieces. I conserve resources by limiting my production time to a few months per year.

Glass endures.  Pieces of it have survived thousands of years.  It never decays, disintegrates, or decomposes of its own accord; the color never fades.  Its an exquisite insulator, lacks a crystalline structure, and is supremely brittle, delicate, and uncompressible.  Ancient chemists struggled to create and understand it; the mirrors of Hubble use it to capture the light of the universe.

I am a “self-taught” artist; I haven’t apprenticed with anyone famous, choosing to spend that effort working on my own ideas and learning in my own way.  I’ve built most of my own equipment over the years.  I work alone, without an assistant or team.  I’ve exhibited at various art galleries around the country over the past 15 years.

I grew up in a quiet suburb of Tacoma, Washington.  After obtaining a degree in chemistry from OregonStateUniversity, I moved to Portland, Oregon, where I currently live and work full time as an artist.

Direct inquiries are always welcome; feedback is strongly encouraged.