My preoccupation with wood began on 30 November, 2002, at approximately 1:00pm. On that Saturday my wife and I visited the Yale Art Gallery (New Haven, CT) to view a now landmark exhibit, “Wood Turning in America since 1930”. I had absolutely no idea how this would impact me, but I could barely contain my excitement as I discovered such accomplished artists as Michael Hosaluk, Stoney Lamar and others. The catalog from this exhibit is now one of my prized reference books. More recently I have been influenced by the work of New Zealand turner Graeme Priddle, and American turner/sculptor William Hunter. The work of these latter two artists demonstrate clearly how turning, sculpture and metals can be spliced together to provide an intimate view of how the artist perceives key elements of their environments, ranging from the sounds and sights of fast moving water and ocean-dwelling creatures to the erosion of rock and earth over millennia.
My recent work has consisted of a multi-year attempt to blend my awe of our natural world, from the cell level to the organism, and my professional work as a neurobiologist, with my study of three-dimensional form and composition in wood and metals.
Throughout my training and academic career, as a clinical psychologist and neuroscientist, I have always protected both time and educational opportunities as an artist. I have largely pursued artistic education in the same manner as I have my scientific training - by relying on the skills, experience and wisdom of individual mentors. I have studied under generous teachers (mostly now deceased) who sought to develop my eye for composition, form and balance; and for the past fifteen years in the use of one of mankind's oldest materials for artistic creation - wood. My overarching goal is to intertwine various media together with my biologist's understanding of the natural world, and with my consideration of human experience as a psychologist, to convey ideas that I am only now beginning to fully imagine. I am currently working to master the technical challenges inherent in mixing wood with metal, so that the two combine with fluidity to tell unique stories.