My sculpture fuses the forms and gestures of humans and the botanical world, embodying the living energy we share. A hand is a leaf, or the earth itself. Fingers are petals that invite close inspection, but might poke the viewer in the eye. Are they lovingly cultivated hybrids, or random and disturbing mutations?
Hand Plants range from houseplants to public work. Sometimes diminutive human and animal forms relate with the plants, creating a more narrative, mythic dimension. There is also a series of double portraits. Referencing floral bouquets, they explore the dynamics of intimate relationships.
I work with bronze directly, liberating it from the dutiful role of replication. I work in a sandbox. Hands, arms, and feet press into casting sand, imprinting the expressive energy of the body into the mold. I then ladle molten bronze into the hollows created by the body. Using a spontaneous, collage-like vocabulary, I weld the cast elements together.
My monotypes are created in the same improvisational spirit, in collaboration with the natural world. Using plants from my garden as stencils and graphic elements, I improvise layer upon layer. Just as my body imprints its energy in casting sand, the plants imprint theirs on paper.
Education
1993 University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA MFA
1976 - 1978 New York Studio School, New York, NY
1976 Oberlin College, Oberlin OH BA, Art & Art History
1975 Apprenticeship with sculptor Joel Shapiro, New York, NY
Awards & Honors
2011 New Courtland Artist Fellowship, Philadelphia, PA
2008 Fellowship, Virginia Center for the Creative Arts, Amherst, VA
2005, 2006 Artist in Residence, Woodrow Wilson Middle School, Philadelphia, PA
2005 Finalist, Southeastern PA Transit Authority gate project
2004 Fellowship, Vermont Studio Center, Johnson VT
Bibliography
2015 Lauren Lipton, “Positively Philadelphia: Young Artists Transforming Local Neighborhoods,” CBS Philly, February 23, 2015
