the vital spirit, soul, or creative force of a person.
ORIGIN Greek, literally ‘that which is breathed or blown.’
Artist's Statement
As a figurative sculptor, my primary focus is the representation of human life. I work in clay, from miniature to colossal scale, make a mold from the finished clay, and then cast the final statue into bronze, another metal, glass, etc.
I am interested in the human figure because of its obvious relevance to people, being instantly relatable and intimately understandable. I am especially intrigued by the relationship that the spirit and mind have with the physical body, the way that the soul bares itself in the surface. Through the relationship of forms, the drama of gesture, and the subtle interplay of complex surface details, I endeavor to capture this sense of pneuma and the nuanced qualities of a living, human experience: breath, pulse, thought, movement, intention, and emotion. My study of what might best be called, “qi,” the qualitative difference between something living and something that is not, has pushed and challenged me to not simply sculpt with anatomical accuracy, but to observe and render a person’s spirit, revealing their divinity through their humanity.
