Artist Statement
I created my first bronze sculpture 30 years ago – a basketball player driving toward the basket. My main focus then was the figure in motion and children at play. As my work started getting more attention I started getting commissions for both public and private collections – to the point where those constituted almost all of my work over the past two decades. It is always a great privilege - and responsibility - to be trusted to help fulfill someone else's vision of honoring loved ones or other important individuals in their community.
A well-known Christian confession states that the chief end of people is to glorify God and enjoy Him forever. My sculpture is an attempt to accomplish this by celebrating The Creator and the gift of life.
"Kimiko" came about as a commission from some acquaintances who asked me to create two pedestal size bronzes - one of their son and one their daughter, Kimi. They wanted Kimi dressed in a kimono that relatives had sent her from Japan. As typical, the kimono had a very ornate design. The challenge was to depict the intricacies of the costume without getting so literal with the details that they would interfere with the graceful, but subtle gesture I was trying to capture. Kimi's parents were very pleased with the results. I too was very happy with the results - enough so that I created the larger version with Kimi's full name, Kimiko, a few years later. It is an honor to have it displayed in Lafayette this year.