Sculpture

When you are in the middle of a story it isn’t a story at all, but only confusion.

Margaret Atwood

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One of the most enjoyable elements in the creation of my sculptural assemblage pieces is going on the hunt to find interesting or curious oddities or objects. I have enjoyed antiquing or searching junk shops for years, but more recently I began collecting objects that are really not of much use in and of themselves. The objects of interest speak to me in some way. They might point to a different era or be an odd piece from a previously useful mechanism. The object may be very identifiable, such as a doll’s head or perhaps so random that trying to figure out where it originated from is nearly impossible. I find all of this curiously interesting and so I find a new use for it.

Whether I am walking along a wooded pathway, the coastline, a roadside or spontaneously stopping at a flea market or yard sale—all hold adventures for me. Rarely do I know in advance what I am actually looking for, although there are times when I know what I desire to convey. That is when I go digging through my collection in the hope of finding the right ingredient to make my assembled sculpture design actually convey a message. There are other times that I allow the menagerie of pieces I collect to inspire me to communicate a narrative.

For me, these sculptural works are a piece of poetry. Compiling the objects and fitting them together is personally satisfying and at times even cathartic. My hope is that although a particular item within a sculpture may be a very personal element for me (which is rewarding within itself), the greater desire is that the entire art piece, although quirky, will be received by my viewer as relatable. Sometimes I deal with very raw or personally challenging subject matter and other times, just whimsy. Within one piece, I may be creating an opportunity for more than one message to be conveyed. The idea of taking difficult topics out of context can give the viewer a different perspective, perhaps one more palpable. I hope my love of found objects and assembling them into story-telling three dimensional art pieces might inspire others to be more open to all of life’s experiences and the stories we tell.

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