Drawing

To be able to sculpt is to be able to draw.  I had never gone to art school where drawing might have been taught and I was convinced that I could not draw on paper with a pencil or charcoal.  Despite years of trying, every attempt I made came up short.  Frustrated and almost resigned, I signed into an online challenge: 100 drawings in 100 days. I accepted this challenge and posted work every day. By the 70th day, my brain and my hand connected.  Drawing has become a critical part of my practice.

Photography

Photography has been a lifelong occupation. Early on I was devoted to my Leica and it repaid in kind. Film…slides…perfect exposure…focus…composition…all done in the camera… at the point of capture.

When digital technology came along…although reluctant…I embraced it. I felt free to shoot more and not so tightly and by learning “Adobe Photoshop”… to tweak on the computer.

I continue to shoot with a DCLR. Currently an Olympus mirrorless camera. Light and fast and stabilized. Too many internal gadgets…I shoot manually and fine tune the focus by hand. I then transfer the photos to my cell phone. And that is where the magic begins.

Digital softwares (like Adobe Photoshop and various iPhone apps) have been absorbed into my photographic toolset… digital editing allows me to make, rather than take pictures. It has become my new “brush”…allowing an unrestricted creativity that I adore.
As a sculptor, I use my camera to review the days work. Somehow it is easier to be objective and to see what I cannot see when in the throws of working.
I photograph all my finished work myself.