Collecting

I select and gather all the materials used in each driftwood sculpture myself. Almost all of it comes from the beaches of northwestern Prince William Sound, a network of bays and fjords with over 3,500 miles of shoreline, hundreds of islands, and more than a thousand beaches.

Prince William Sound has a fantastic combination of indented shorelines, heavy forests, and wind and wave patterns that accumulate a wide variety of interesting materials.

The stretches of Alaskan shoreline where I find the best material are far from civilization, and many of these beaches probably go years between visits by a wandering beachcomber. I have some favorite spots that I return to often across multiple seasons, but part of the enjoyment is finding and picking a beach I've never visited.

By working with driftwood and designing sculptures that highlight its unique characteristics, I have learned to look at trees, rocks, and beaches in new ways. The patterns visible on the wild shores of Alaska find their way into my art, just as the material in my assemblages began as driftwood, cast up by ocean waves or dropped by a falling tide.

I pay close attention to the natural "sculptures" that each beach holds. The action of the tide and the force of storm-driven waves constantly rearrange driftwood and other flotsam. The ocean deposits thousands of individual pieces into intricate, multi-textured arrangements of wood, seaweed, sand, and rock.

I observe how tree stumps become embedded in beach gravel and notice how hundreds of tiny sticks float into swirling patterns before the ebbing tide deposits them gently into a natural work of art.

On every beach I visit, I constantly imagine new shapes and designs for the sculptures I create from Alaskan driftwood. When I discover a stunning piece of wood or see a section of a tree or bush that nature has sculpted into a seemingly impossible shape, I try to visualize how it could fit into a future project. Is it the shape of a fish, bird, or animal? Is it a twisted root that suggests a part of an abstract sculpture?

Many times, a new creation begins to form in my mind as I walk the shoreline, discovering unique and wonderful driftwood shapes lodged amongst the seaweed and beach gravel.