Canadian, Born March 19, 1963

I would like to write this as economically as possible. There is nothing simple about how I’ve come to make Art, but it comes down to one simple need that can be traced to extended hospital stays as a youngster. In very uncertain times, I learned that there was a sense of control to be gained from creating. While all else seemed uncertain, there were certain freedoms in the act of Drawing.

When I became well, nothing was more important than the freedom of physical movement. Being unencumbered by hospital walls and physical pain meant that I would not be interested in quiet Drawing for a long time. The desire to be a normal Canadian Prairie boy drew me along to the highest levels of competitive amateur hockey. The movement and physical dynamics of the sport still fascinate me, however my earlier health limitations finally combined with an on ice accident to remind me of the fragility and importance of life itself.

I became dedicated to a career in Architecture, which took me to a diploma in Architecture and a short freelance career. My studies were funded by working with mentally handicapped people who continually reminded me that human spirit is such a beautiful thing. Finally, I heard the sound of my own heart and returned to Art School.

The Art School experience was fantastic for me. I supplemented my visual studies with reading Buddhism and Taoism and Eastern Philosophy. I was deeply moved by instructors and experiences during Art School.

As a Graduate Student, it was an extended assistantship with the English Sculptor Anthony Caro which helped to really open my eyes. We have remained friends over the years and his encouragement has helped me to continue to grow even more open to possibilities in Art.

My wife, who is my best friend, wished to move to Japan for a chance to experience something different. I saw this a a possibility to learn more about “things” and was able to work in a studio on my own and create sculpture for a solo exhibition there in 1993.

We both learned a great deal during our two year stay. But it was when we returned to Canada that I could never see anything the same again. Canada and life in the world seemed much different. I could never make sculpture the same way, and I could never teach as I had before, either.

I have found myself enlisted in many things in the art world of late, and have learned much about many aspects to do with the practical survival of visual art. The time serving as President of The Edmonton Contemporary Artists Society; Board Member at the Art Gallery, Chair of Committees etc., and even a recent role as Curator have helped me to appreciate the relationships and the work that is involved in bringing art to an audience. I have more respect for those art people who are not artists, than I ever have before. I understand better how very much we rely on each other.

I feel that we all have very different tastes and life experiences, but we also share many similar values in life. It is these shared feelings which I feel are the most important and defining elements of being human. With my sculpture, my teaching, with my life, I try to explore the limits of our human liberty. Our freedom to explore, to be surprised, and yet to share a familiarity, is the essence of what I am trying to do.

I consider all that we do to be a kind of unplanned preparation to further explore freedom.