the artist
I am driven by a head full of ideas like schoolchildren clamoring to share a hidden answer. Each time I step into the studio with the plan to launch a new project, the ideas beg with arms raised high overhead and burst out loud, “PICK ME! PICK ME!!” When I sit at my desk to write, the ideas behave differently. Shy, silent, tentative, and unsure; they hide. I catch glimpses of them. They peek with wide-eyes from dark murky depths until coaxed into the light. The writing ideas are easily spooked and quick to scamper away. I either have to pretend not to notice them or patiently and kindly win their confidence…always surprised later by the words strung together and the thoughts captured.
I am fueled by adventure both inside and outside of the studio. Compelled to explore, I push boundaries, experiment, and scare myself. I’ve been shipwrecked on a Mexican island, stepped on by a bear while sleeping alone in the backcountry, nearly blown off the top of Mt Rainier, flipped in Class Five rapids, and completely mesmerized while climbing frozen waterfalls. Exploring, I push my physical and mental limits while creating art and living life. Spirituality weaves itself through everything.
I created a life-size figurative sculpture in steel when I was 16 and taught myself to carve with a chainsaw while in my 20’s. I have a lucky knack for a variety of media…even carved huge sculptures for Nestle out of chocolate. My life and art have been featured in several books and articles along with a few radio and TV appearances. The DIY network filmed a half hour show about my work for their woodcarving series. Numerous awards, exhibitions, and commissions have garnished my career like candy sprinkles on a frosted cupcake.
Home is a cozy cabin at the end of a road near the top of a mountain in Paradise Valley, Montana. I live a “storied” life not unlike a quirky, comic imaginative movie. I write, perform and create works of art that celebrate, commemorate, stir quietly or dance loudly. The Patron Place is a multi-media experience which shares much of this: adventure footage, entertaining stories, raw thoughts, and the insight gleamed from an authentic life lived fully.
I hope you'll visit me there often.
