Walking through the natural landscape, my eyes scan my environment. Frequently, I pause to examine a leaf, a stone, or a branch. After many years of this near daily activity, without conscious thought, I decide to retain or discard each fragment that passes through my hands. My actions feel non-intellectual. Some objects enrich me and, I carry them to my studio. My journeys occur year-round, in all weather. The process of finding is as important as the bounty I retrieve.

My studio is perched on a tree shaded bridge over a creek, Godfrey Run. One hundred feet to the north, the water moving under my studio reaches Lake Erie, the source of much that I collect. In this quiet space, dense with my findings, I examine bits of the natural world. Some forms are whimsical and joyful, others somber and restrained. I pay attention with a sense of listening to each branch or twig. Some I slightly alter; others remain as they were.