Happy spring, my friends! I hope the rebirth of the natural world is lifting your spirits and steadying your heart
I spent much of the last month in San Diego, where I fired six new sculptures and got to connect with some of my enthusiastic collectors. So in lieu of writing a Sculpture of the Month for April, I’m sharing a glimpse into my process and inviting you into some of the homes graced by my artwork.
Here I am, stacking this old, familiar kiln at Clay Associates with new work I’ll be revealing soon. I used to fire my work here regularly before moving to Santa Cruz. The kiln-master there, Eric, has supported my art-making for decades.
The firing step in my artistic process produces different colors depending on when oxygen is shut off to the kiln. For the most part, the lighter applications of iron oxide turn out lighter and the heavier applications darker, but I appreciate the sometimes unpredictable results!
During my trip, I also got to deliver a second sculpture to my new friend Jan Carpenter who edited the book of sculpture and poetry I published with Cheryl Latif, Reflexions. (Grab your copy here!)
Jan’s setup seems custom-made for my artwork, and I’m delighted for her space to incorporate two of my sculptures: Observer-Observed on the left and The Charm of Gentle Strength on the right.
Supporter Martha Scott also received delivery of her second sculpture, The Burden of Consciousness, and was kind enough to host my wife and I for lunch. My collectors truly understand how to find places where my work will have an impact. I love how this one is framed not only by the roofline, but also by the vastness of the sky.
Additionally, I visited my friend Mike Kelly who owns The Day I Danced with Death. Mike and I met while working together on a masterplan for wetland mitigation along the San Diego River
If you’re missing this month’s edition of the SOM, check out my blog to read the one I wrote way back in August of 2021 about this sculpture. It ends with the touching story of how Mike came to own this piece.
Finally, I caught up with Ken Schedler and his wife Sonya who own more of my artwork than anyone else – eleven sculptures! Ken was originally attracted to my work because of his own wood-carving art. He has even published several photobooks of his artwork, one of them including my sculptures! See a couple example pages from his fourth volume, The Remains of the Day, below.
Thank you for joining me for this recap of my adventures in San Diego! You can continue the journey by browsing the galleries on my websit
