As a sculptress, I look to my natural surroundings for inspiration. Whether it is the Catskill Mountains, the St. Croix River Valley, or the high desert of Southern Colorado, the world around me affects my life and my art. Growing up in the Midwest, I spent much of my childhood exploring the woods, the fields, and the streams near my home. Traveling though the country to visit rural cousins ingrained in me the profound importance of the earth and the environment on our lives.

I never outgrew the desire to explore the world around me. Walking in the woods past industrial ruins, abandoned quarries, lakes and streams, picking up sticks and rocks, informs my work and my materials. Intrigued by the interaction between humans and nature, I look toward physical traces of human history that produce a sense of mystery and magic through growth and decay. I look at the forms nature creates—the webs spiders spin, the nests birds weave, the mountains, hills, and valleys that rivers and glaciers have carved. I cannot pretend to recreate these forms or to compete with the beauty they possess, but I do attempt to create work that appears indigenous. I expand on nature and history, calling attention to the beauty that is already there.

My work resembles archaeological sites, artifacts, and fossils. It is uncertain if the components are functional vessels, handcrafted tools, fossilized creatures, or petrified organs. They are artifacts and fossils of a time that never existed. These are tools made obsolete by technology, new objects created in a world that does not need them.

Whether the viewers are able to walk inside a work or just imagine holding an object in their hand, the audience’s participation in a piece is needed for its success. Size is determined by human measurements and potential function. What could the viewer walk into and feel safe and sheltered? What fits in my hand perfectly, thus making it a good tool or useful weapon? This implied functionality allows viewers to bond with the objects and consider their own relationship with the tools they use as well as to view their environment in a different light.

The functionality of objects and the importance of tools, vessels, and shelter in our lives intrigues me. I look back on a previous age where handmade tools were the norm and were intricately decorated, created by the user for life long use. I am fascinated by a time when pioneers came to this country and traveled west and Native Americans lived off the land. With no stores for groceries, clothing, hardware, or household goods these pioneers built homes of found materials and handmade tools and lived though the harsh seasons of the American frontier. Their food was grown, hunted, or gathered. Their bedding and clothing were handmade. They were able to find or create almost all the necessities of life. Likewise, Native Americans lived off the land creating or finding what they needed to survive.

My work reflects these interests and desires and encourages the viewer to look at the world in a different light.