The air, the soil, the water, and the persistent forces of nature create the experiences of one’s time on a farm. They are grounding. Though I have lived and traveled the earth’s large cities and far reaches, nothing has ever felt as real as the loved and hated farms of my youth. It encapsulates the beautiful reality of digging, bleeding, hurting, and triumphing while watching life rise then falter, and disintegrate to the earth again. The visual struggle to create something out of the elements - paint, dirt, clay, bronze - is what my art represents. They embody my history and experiences of manipulating raw material into something grounding and real and beautiful.