Philosophy         My philosophy of art (and life) keeps evolving. Perhaps that is an aspect of a maturing mind, or maybe a byproduct of a year studying art in grad school. At any rate, I find that the things I care about- the things that drive art, ultimately- break down into a few important themes, with occasional other diversions. Maybe it will be easier to break it down in parts: A recurring theme in my work is the idea of an intangible, spiritual connection between the seen and the unseen. This connection is sometimes facilitated with physical objects, or Tokens. This is an older line of thought for me, and was the area I was exploring just prior to entering grad school. Sometime, I find myself viewing world affairs and national politics with both distrust and mild alarm. Although I despise political classification as superficial, I see myself as a civil libertarian in most aspects. The forces of evil spend a lot of time trying to intimidate, lie to, or subjugate honest people who just want to be left alone to find their own joy. This moves some of my art, like I Am Not a Terrorist.  My natural cycnicism also tends to leak out in this area. Books have been the major thrust of my exploration for the last year or so; it is more thoroughtly explained here. It is in this area that I want to continue my exploration.  When I left grad school, it was with the idea that I needed some time to refresh my outlook, as well as a change to refine my artistic focus and interest. I still don't feel like I am ready to go back, but maybe this will give me some more insight. And, finally, we get around to art I do not make. Love is a powerful force in my life, but it rarely appears in my art. I think that this is in part because its too close, too strong, and too sublime.  To me, it's too important to bring into the public eye.             Return to the Metalsmithing Homepage