Artist Bio:
Once there was a fox who chased an invisible bird.
Stories build bridges between the seen and unseen world—breathing life into a ways of being, understanding, and feeling, that, at it’s most profound, illumines a path toward enlightenment.
My work rises from a quiet mind, without censorship. I simply follow it towards its natural conclusion. I love the marriage of word and image, which, when properly balanced, are ever receiving and ever expanding, making active participants of those involved in their hearing, seeing, reading or re-telling.
My favorite place to be is standing upon the bridge, peering over the edge at the beauty that ebbs and flows beneath.
I am grateful and flattered.
In contentment I find happiness. In gratitude I find contentment. In humility I find gratitude.
I have a place to work and create and a family I love and support and who love and support me. I have a place to call home. I have enough. I write it out because I need reminding.
I tell and write stories to my three girls (and my wife). Images come through me that others appreciate. I have had the good fortune to have been invited to speak and teach at the International Mokuhanga Conference in Japan as well as at many other institutions nationwide. In addition I am flattered by all the supporters and collectors who choose to live with me and my work as well as institutions who have chosen my work for their permanent collections such as The Smithsonian Institution’s National Museum of American History, Savanah College of Art and Design, Vanderbilt University Heard Library among many others.
The nature of a handmade moku-hanga print:
Printed by hand—every copy of each print touches the artist's hand many times. For each color, a hand carved woodblock is carefully dampened and pigmented and then registered and printed by hand by rubbing the back of the print with a printing tool called a baren. This process is repeated for each print and then for every different color block carved for the image; and sometimes the same block is printed multiple times to achieve specific affects or to deepen the color. It is not unusual for each print in the edition to be printed 20 or more times.
The nature of the process (hand carved and hand printed) and media (water based pigment) reveal the 'hand of the artist' and as such, minor inconsistencies are evident when viewed over the course of an entire edition of 75-100 prints (equaling 1,500-2,000 hand pulled color impressions per edition). Prints with inconsistencies too distracting or detrimental to the overall image are removed from the final numbered edition. It is impossible however to remove all inconsistencies from every print in an edition and so prints with inconsistencies that do not detract from the overall print are included in the edition. I embrace these minor variations which add a depth of character and connection to me and my process.
In a time where much of the art that reaches the majority of people comes in the form of digital imagery or digitally reproduced imagery, the intangible connection that comes from the 'hand of the artist' goes largely unrecognized and forgotten. My great hope is to share this work and connection as an artist with you—my patron, the other equally important half of my work.
I create works of art from wood, earth, and water, but it is the space between us which gives it meaning.
I am eternally grateful for the support you provide to me and my work.
