One of the things that have always bothered me about Sculpture is the Space that I fill up by creating it. That may seem funny, but please understand that for a sculptor, Space is our ultimate muse. Crowding, darkening, weighing down Space around us is absolute torture to the creative soul.

When a sculptor makes a piece, it is not only the sculpture that we create (the positive form) but we also somehow form the Space around the sculpture. Of course Space has been here for millennia, since the beginning of time, and a sculptor doesn’t really create Space. Space is divine, eternal, maybe even God. But we enjoy playing with Her infinity by carving and forming a physical object inside of Her vastness. The (negative) Space around an object must be a carefully thought out, just as the object itself.

This is true with anything really. It the Yin and Yang, the ebb and flow, the dark and the light. Without one, the other diminishes altogether. Since a sculptor is one who creates form and volume from empty Space–a void–it makes sense that we are slave to Her, yet we give great homage to Space because without Her, we are nothing.

Not only do I create forms that fill up Space, but I also create heavy ones. Bronze by nature is a heavy and permanent material, lasting thousands of years, but unmoving, unchanging, and even sometimes burdensome and dark. Ironically, the moment bronze is cast it is dynamic and powerful. Standing next to a bronze pour feels like flying next to the Sun. It takes many people and many machines to harness the power of liquid bronze. Bronze is one of the most dynamic materials to be created by human civilization. It is not something to be taken lightly… no pun intended!

I want to make my finished bronzes as dynamic as they are in its liquid state. I don’t want to just fill up space with something heavy and burdensome. When I create a piece, I want to make sure that the Space around my sculpture welcomes it and that they compliment each other. I want my sculptures to float up and soar off the pedestal. The viewer will have an undying need to touch and walk around my sculptures. Form and Space will create music where they touch. Surrounded with the gentle embrace of Space, the sculpture will be home at last.
Empty Space is simply refreshing and enjoyable, but Space with a sculpture can become beautiful and powerful. Space will become joyous if a physical form graces her just right. With ultimate consideration of our limited Space on this Earth, I mindfully create sculptures that love the Space and Space loves the sculpture right back.

“What Art offers is Space – a certain breathing room for the spirit” – John Updike

Bronze pour

February 14

My Love and I were so lucky to have met that cold December night, dining next to one another, for we were mere strangers in a Manhattan restaurant.  On that first chance meeting, I didn’t know for sure if we would fall in love, but I knew deep inside that I had met a life-long friend, and even my soul mate.  In less than a week I knew falling in love was inevitable.

It was five wonderful years ago I created this sculpture for my husband.  It was to be my wedding present to him.  I wanted him to understand the way he made me feel.  I called it “Home”.

I had sculpted couples before: “Nested Rhythms”, “Freedom Bound”, “My Kite”, but I wanted to communicate to my husband the feeling that I got when I first looked into his face.  It was like no other face I had ever ‘entered’ before, and yet it was the most familiar face I had ever seen.  His deep brown eyes promised it was safe and his smile told me I was home.  I immediately trusted him with every part of my life and I couldn’t wait to share more.

With all our might, we try to put words or images to Love but it is something that can only be felt.  Love is Nature: a big wave crashing at the seashore, lava erupting from the hot core of the earth, a silent eagle soaring in the blue sky, a hummingbird kissing a flower, a baby clapping her hands when we enter the room.  I believe Love is the most powerful force in Nature, but like a secret, Love has a quiet and intimate way that finds a path into all of us.

“If I know what Love is, It is because of You.” - Herman Hesse

1 Feb 2013

2013 will really be an incredible year—I just know it.  As 2012 came to an end there was much talk about the end of an Era. Even the primitive Mayan people prophesied the end of an age…some theologians even calling it the end of the world.

I am not interested in over dramatizing it.  We are all still here; driving our SUVs to the corner Starbucks for our triple-shot, extra-foam, vanilla latte while pinging our housekeeper, texting our children’s teacher, tweeting our girlfriends, downloading the newest aps and uploading a photo of us enjoying our over-valued morning coffee while we read our newspaper on our Kindle.  But deep inside we know this won’t last.  Our intuition tells us that there will come a time where we must stop this gluttony and find simplicity instead of complexity.  We must put an end to our desires of excess and consumerism and find what really gives our soul a lasting sense of joy.

We all saw it coming as companies who could ‘never fail’ close their doors permanently.  People who had ‘great jobs’ are finding themselves unemployed for 3 years, 4, and even longer.  Even America can’t really call itself a world leader anymore with its severe debt and inability to bring jobs back home from China. Its no doubt there has been a shift of power.  With this comes a shift of priority.

A few years ago I saw a road sign that said “Change Priorities Ahead”.  The road ended a T where cars had to go left or right.  It made me think of my civilization, my race, my gender, my career, and my Self as a part of the natural world.  I am a believer that energy never dies; it only changes form and direction.  It was clearly time for me to “Change my Priorities Ahead” to survive. Which way was I going to turn?  What would I have to let go of and what new things would I find?

I vow to look at the inevitable changes as healthy and exciting, rather than a loss or an end.  I am not severing or killing a part of me, I am witnessing a rebirth that will lead to a more whole ME.  I am so excited to share what this means for my sculptures, but that will have to be the next post.  For now, I will leave you with a favorite quote:

“If not me, Who? And if not now, When?”   Mikhail Gorbachev