Artist Statement January 2011


My personal journey, including spiritual growth and self exploration, has led me choose subjects that I hope will address the human condition. I feel that humanity has far more in common than in difference. I attempt to demonstrate the connection and bond that unites us through the concepts and subjects I portray in my works. Sometimes my subjects are rendered with parody in mind to suggest the follies that human beings seem to repeat. At other times my subjects are a mirror for what I see as beautiful and sublime.
This quote from Julia Cameron’s book The Artists Way has inspired me:

“Those who speak in spiritual terms routinely refer to God as the creator, but seldom see creator as a literal term for artist. “

I suggest we take the term creator quite literally, seeking to forge a creative alliance, artist to artist, with the Great Creator.
  When I am in the creative zone I reach my inner sanctum. This is my place for contemplation and while there I experience an occasional epiphany. Creating art is sacred for me.

I attempt to combine visual imagery from nature and subject matter from legends and ancient images. Like Carl Jung, I am heavily influenced by dreams that represent the collective unconscious of humanity. I agree with some of his ideas which included embracing mythologies, so we “can understand ghosts, become comfortable with the dead, and heal our mental illnesses.”