I work in a process that combines sculpture and photography. I create original sculptures which I then use as the main subject matter in my photographs. The sculptures are dieties from my own personal mythology, which is inspired by and in dialogue with the art of ancient civilizations.

This current work evolved out of a process that began with painting. In my earlier work, I explored patterns that recur in many natural forms and thus seem to suggest a blueprint that unifies nature. I was particularly interested in a vine-like pattern that appears as river networks, lightning, synapses, roots and tree branches. As I continued working with this pattern, it evolved from linear structures to more fleshed out forms containing human, animal and botanical elements. Eventually, fully-formed hybrid creatures emerged. Although I arrived at these creatures organically, I found myself in a dialogue with the artists of ancient civilizations who created fused creatures to depict their deities.

After working with these ideas for several years in painting, I shifted to sculpture and photography. I create original sculptures in clay, cast them in urethane resin and then paint them with acrylics. I integrate the sculpture into a natural environment which I then photograph, incorporating various elements of the landscape into the composition and narrative. Every creature has a golden botanically-inspired headpiece. These headpieces show the connection of the creatures to their origin in the early stage of my work, in which they began as vine-like patterns. I paint the headpieces gold to suggest an elevated status or high spiritual level. Although I suggest narratives, I intentionally maintain a degree of ambiguity to allow for a multitude of interpretations. The hybrid creatures could be seen as beings from another dimension or parallel universe, deities from an unknown civilization or characters from a dreamscape. They could also be seen as the unintended result of genetic engineering.

After living in New York City for many years, I relocated to rural, northwest Connecticut, where the closeness to nature and abundant possibilities for shooting locations have helped me immensely in the development of this work. Travel has also served as a tremendous source of inspiration. I was profoundly inspired by several trips to India, where I visited temple complexes with extraordinary carvings and sculptures. Also deeply inspiring have been trips to Mexico, Guatemala and Peru where I had opportunities to view the ruins and sculpture of Mayan, Incan and other indigenous civilizations. Important contemporary influences include Ana Mendieta and Andy Goldsworthy and their collaborations with nature. I am also inspired by the whimsical quality of Tom Otterness' work as well as Antoni Gaudi’s nature-based creations.