I am engaged in investigating the tension created in my objects by juxtaposing biomorphic and man made forms. Rather than observing my sources directly, I look to human interpretations of the natural world by utilizing imagery drawn from the decorative arts and botanical drawings. By going straight to the reproduced image, I can then interject manufactured elements and attributes to the piece. This allows for the evolution of a visual language that incorporates hybridization of the mechanical, the vegetal and the zoomorphic.
I strive to create elegant objects by carefully incorporating lowbrow accessories such as feathers, rhinestones, and flocking. Frequently these elements are somewhat camouflaged; stones reside within striations in the surface; flocking mimics a complementary matte glaze. Lusters impart a luxuriant surface that treads a thin line between the sensual and the lascivious.
I look to the contradictions that reside between the tasteful and the tawdry; I question the notion of good taste. The idea that one is supposed to prefer one over the other is one that has bothered me for a long time now. And one cannot examine notions around taste without examining the notion of beauty; I would argue that the two are inextricably entwined. Can an ugly object be in “good taste?” Can a beautiful object also be a tasteless object? These are the questions that I have been asking myself when I create new work, and while I have only begun to scrutinize this territory: I expect to continue investigating it for some time to come.