Artist Statement
|
On a summer day in 2001 I passed an old barn at a rural railway station, the doors stood open and I could see somebody standing there chiseling away on a massive piece of stone. Instantly intrigued I stepped inside, being welcomed by a very friendly and dusty stone sculptor, discovering rows of boxes full of soapstone pieces in all colors and shapes. Soapstone is a soft stone, fairly easy to work with, so I bought a piece, grabbed a rasp, sat in my grandmas garden and started shaping. I didn't exactly know what I was doing only to find out, within no time, that I had created the most beautiful little sculpture. So I went back and bought more soapstone and the pieces got bigger and bigger.
In 2002 I already opened my first artist studio and started to hold regular exhibitions. At this stage I decided I would want to work with a “real” stone, a hard stone and was lucky enough to be given the opportunity to attend a course at the well known “Scuola di Scultura di Peccia”. I found the little village of Peccia, situated in a remote valley in Switzerland, surrounded by nature with mountain views and a marble quarry just up the road, a most inspiring place. It was there, working with the incredibly beautiful swiss marble, where I experienced the absolute fascination with stone sculpting. While working for many years as a Landscape Architect, Garden Designer and Project Manager I attended several stone sculpting courses and with the occasional guidance of other sculptors I gained confidence and got more and more intrigued by the the act of creating through craftsmanship. In 2006 I started to work in Carrara Marble, an incredibly beautiful stone and wonderful to work with. We used to drive all the way to the marble Quarries in Carrara, Italy hunting offcuts of Carrara Marble, often driving all the way home to Switzerland in a hopelessly overloaded car. In 2009 I migrated to New Zealand. After many years running a Holiday Park in the Hokianga I moved to Whanganui where I currently live, work and create. Hard stone is still my preferred medium, especially marble, granite, basalt and limestone, but I also work in wood, Soapstone and clay. Lately I rediscovered my passion for photography, currently expressed through close up and detail photography of my sculptures. My art is a reflection of my passion for nature; landscapes, weather, details of nature, the endless variety of natural forms. Being in a natural environment gives me a sense of peace and contemplation. My work is also a subconscious response to the world around me and an expression of my own personal life experiences. I choose to work in an abstract style allowing the viewer to bring to recollection their own life experiences and connect with my forms in their own way. Creating in a minimalist style I intend for my sculptures to be dynamic, yet balanced and harmonious, I like to work with contrasts through texture, while simplicity is the governing concept. My aim is to create sculptures which will seduce the viewer's eye, stir the soul, and entice to touch. |