All of my sculptures are individually crafted, fired, and hand-finished in my workshop near Charlotte, North Carolina. As a self-taught artist, I've developed my techniques over the course of a decade through experimentation and creative perseverance. The successes, set backs and lessons I've learned along the way have evolved into my current body of work. 

 

The sculptures in my CRYSTALLINE series are inspired by geodes and gemstones, combining the properties of uncut, natural stones and crystals with the radiant shine of polished jewels. Each one is crafted with glass cut from large sheets that I hand crush and sift into tiny fragments. The fragments are then tediously layered in varying densities to create the sculpture's granular texture while blending colors, shaping, and free-forming the composition as I go. Many of these works feature open areas within the design where I've allocated space for the glass to stretch, drip, or hollow-out as it becomes molten while still holding to its planned configuration. Creating these geode-like 'cavities' is a meticulous process. My intentionally imbalanced areas have to be perfectly balanced within the overall design for the sculpture to successfully take its shape and avoid collapse while firing. The weight and distribution of layers have to be precise; it's a delicate process of give-and-take.

 

My SHARDS series sculptures are also meticulously free-formed piece by piece to create depth and blend colors, each one shaped layer by layer. Like the process for my Crystalline series, no base glass is used as a foundation, making it paramount to attain the correct balance of space and weight in the layers and across the composition as I build and shape. This ensures the glass melds evenly, expands and pulls as forecasted, and securely forms through the final firing phase. 

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Tailoring kiln cycles to specific temperatures as the glass heats and anneals is also an essential part of the creative equation. This predictive yet planned approach is vital to my initial creation of the sculpture’s design in order to achieve its granular texture and solidify to it’s intended shape and size.

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Once all firing cycles are complete and the sculpture is fully formed, it is cold worked by hand- grinding, sanding and buffing to completion. All sculptures are original creations and each is signed and dated for authenticity.