I was fortunate while exploring Canada coast to coast in my early twenties to have been introduced to the works of British sculptor, Barbara Hepworth. Her elegant use of wood, stone, and metal to convey a reverence for contemplation inspired me to express my own sense of the transcendent beauty of wilderness and life therein. Similarly, Theodor Schwenck's book, Sensitive Chaos, deepened my appreciation of how flowing water and streaming wind give rise to familiar elemental forms - not only as impressed on sand and stone and snow but also as expressed formatively in the biological growth of organs which allow life to flourish.
Moresby Seascape
There’s a welcome sense of partnership in working with wood. The figured grain, itself a record of flowing life forces, is both a source of inspiration and a constraint in visualizing the evolving form. The work is intuitive yet often formidable as chips fall irreversibly off the original block. The majority of the labour involved is devoted to refining curves and concavities in a lengthy process that ends with my taped fingers utilizing ever finer grades of sandpaper. Multiple thin coats of tung oil complete the finishing. I encourage viewers to reach out to touch and caress in order to share the feeling of the experience that produced these forms.