I was raised and began my formal educational training in New York City. After completing my education in the Midwest with one degree in ceramics and sculpture and another in Architecture I resettled in Missoula, Montana where I developed a career as an architectural designer and construction supervisor. Somewhere in midlife I shifted gears and opened a studio to develop and explore a new way of working with concrete as a sculptural medium. I delved into photography and began working with models as a reference tool for sculpting the human form. The photography itself developed into a new form of expression both for myself, and frequently for the models.
Curiosity and invention are key to my work process and have led me to develop unique methods in both photography and concrete as a sculptural medium. I enjoy both the technical aspects of photography and the medium of creation and expression. I am frequently tasked with the design and fabrication of specialized equipment to facilitate the capture of the image I aim to create. My studio is both a workshop and a canvas.
My portfolio of creative work spans 35 years, and is predominantly centered around capturing the human form in motion. Individual pieces freeze an expressive moment where gravity is suggested, but not dominant. My goal is to provide the viewer an opportunity to explore fine details at their leisure.
A fascinating aspect of still photography is its ability to select and freeze a moment and present it to the viewer for scrutiny. I work to capture moments which are normally available to people only as a transitional glance and as a segment of movement. By triggering a shutter, the photographer snares a small slice out of the continuity of time and space, and presents that one frame in the continuing patterns of visual experience and then makes it available for the viewer to deconstruct, inspect or simply immerse themselves in that one small segment of life's kaleidoscope.
The process of selection, framing and delivery centers in the artists eye, both in intention and execution. The resultant imagery may then either elevate the common or illuminate the obscure. The seeing is different and therefore the seeing is new. I liken it to lucid dreaming with a pause button.
I have always been a tinkerer, designer and builder. I do love the technical aspects of photography and will spend hours building or modifying my equipment to realize my creative vision.
I shy away from composite work and post processing in favor of in-camera capture. I’d much rather design, build and play with studio equipment than sit at a computer. Developing new skills and tools expands my creative pallet allowing me to see anew and to imagine with a language of experience.
Video
The link below will open a Youtube video (approx 11 min) . This is an interview and informational piece created for Allez! by Josh Nelson, Edited by Lillian & Josh Nelson. Allez! is an ongoing public art presentation organization in Missoula, Mt and featured my piece "To Life"-Feb, 2020 which was printed at 4ft x 8ft and displayed in the summer of 2021.