Ceramic Series

The Last Bird ~ Artist's Statement

I speak through my art combing that passion with a love for animals and an abiding hatred for cruelty. By employing my craft I strive to express both compassion and protest.An overview of the work reveals diverse mediums and materials dedicated to this singular theme.

I have come to understand that we are all connected; a kinship exists with all life. My current series of clay sculpture, The Last Bird, evolved from this belief. Symbolic images began to emerge after a very specific event I experienced.

My yard is host to a vast number of animals I have come to know and enjoy observing. Many are visitors from the lot next door to my home. I watched one afternoon as the thriving woodland was bulldozed and will never forget the sound of the giant trees being reduced into a pile. Two birds were frantically circling the fallen trees that I presumed was their home, then all the wildlife vanished. My first sculpture in The Last Bird series was born from this witness.

We as humans are stewards of this planet and all its inhabitants. We cannot afford to turn a blind eye to serious realities which threaten the quality of our existence. This kinship we have with all life “must be expressed in action, since belief is no longer enough.”

Kinship

"Kinship with all life must be expressed in action... since belief is no longer enough"

Figurative