Artist statement for June - July show

Holon: and entity that is at once a whole and simultaneously part of some other whole entity

I've long enjoyed observing how the geometry of such tiny structures as molecules or delicate sea creatures is mirrored on the macroscopic scale of geological and cosmic formations. Exploring the relationship between geometry, discreet parts and the "wholes" has consumed my artistic efforts for quite some time. For while a great whole is comprised of many parts, that whole is itself present within each of the parts. And what is a "part" but merely where I decide to draw the line? I find myself making art which is really a map of relationships & influence between characters both tiny and great; primitive and sophisticated; matter and spirit; deductive and intuitive. Yet, the more I map, the more frontier appears just beyond the scope of my latest work.

A friend once asked me "why don't you just paint things as they really are...just as they look?". The truth is, I do just that all of the time. I simply stopped trusting my eyes a long time ago. My work re-presents discussions, humor, flavors, interesting shapes & textures all nabbed from unsuspecting donors. I have found that everything I re-present mirrors an evolving interior relationship with something bigger.

For some reason I'm always drawn to art media which force me to release control of the outcome. I always enter my studio with a head full of technicolor dreams intending to push pigment, water, or epoxy around. For an hour or most of a day I do my part. Then, I wait. I have to step back to allow the inherent nature of the material to take over to and dry, bleed, ooze, contract, cure, heat up or cool down. I get to shape the experience, but I don't get to force things. On a good day, this is a beautiful partnership. The finished product contains pleasant surprises I could not have planned and serves the medium much better than sitting in a can on my shelf would have done. While painting in watercolor and casting in plastic may seem like an improbable combination of media for one artist, this invitation to creative partnership is the common denominator for all of my work. The real medium is "self".