I am a figurative sculptor based in Washington, D.C. Working in clay and stone, I explore human emotions and human condition expressed through figurative form. In my day job, I work in international human rights, rule of law development and access to justice. From my work and travels throughout Central Asia, Africa, Eastern Europe, Asia, and Latin America, I draw inspiration for my art, examining human condition, relationships, and experience across cultures, borders, and languages.
My work tends to focus on a range of very private, intimate moments and deeply personal emotions—bliss, embarrassment, fears, desires, joy. I explore and expose these emotions through a similarly exposed, vulnerable form: the human body.
To capture these fleeting moments, I use clay. In its raw state, clay is very pliable. It sags, moves, bends, and molds as I work through the initial stages. At that point, clay mirrors the fluidity of feelings, emotions, and body movements, which allows me to calibrate the body-form to the emotions I intend to capture. As the clay solidifies, so does the vision for the eventual piece. I then work with natural cracks of the drying and firing process, and I use patina and paint to enhance or de-emphasize the mood of the piece. Sometimes the final piece is made to appear to be cast in bronze—a solid, set-in-stone picture of what would otherwise be fleeting, private moments. This invites the uneasy realization that something private, emotional, and temporary has been made permanent and put on public display.