I grew up in Troy, Alabama, whose rural atmosphere has given me an abiding appreciation for the mysteries and rhythms of nature. To this propensity for the outside world, I include an equally expansive knowledge of tradition, symbolism, and number, enhanced by many years teaching both sculpture, ceramics, drawing, and visual arts as an adjunct instructor at Troy University. Since the late 80s, I have produced seven major series, sometimes ongoing and often overlapping. My recent work, moreover, reveals an assessment of social interaction, in short, the human condition.
My work has been reviewed in Sculpture, World Sculpture News, Southern Quarterly, Number, and Art Papers. I have also received an artist fellowship from the Alabama State Council on the Arts and the 2015 Southeastern Art Conference Fellowshio (SECAC). I earned an MFA from the University of Alabama at Tuscaloosa. I currently work in my studio at Comer, Georgia.
The La Strega (2014-2015) series reflects tumultuous events that happen with the ferocity and randomness of storms, as, for example, the women tortured and hanged during the Salem witch trials in 1692, for alleged participation in satanic rituals. Another example is the Inquisition during the Renaissance and later when supposed heretics were tortured. Graceful in configuration, the works reflect feminine beauty, but areas of twisted and mangled steel convey the inner tumult of the victims. The thirteen drawings in the show titled Witch Hunt echo the ideas of the sculptures, at the same time that they serve as an incubation for ideas for the three-dimensional works.