Sculptural Art Jewelry, Treasures Unearthed

I believe in the organic beauty of the natural results of the process of age and that this beauty is naturally grounding for people in their busy lives these days. The Japanese philosophy of Wabi Sabi seems to come closest to defining this as a concept. I’m learning how to lean in to my natural bent toward this concept as I continue my creative work.

The process of finding my way in my own Studio is somewhat fraught with the “shoulds” of what product of my creativity will find a home in someone else’s heart, be worthy of the exchange of value - dollars for the fruits of my labour. The question of what other people want is devastating to my creativity. Literally stops me dead in my tracks.

Instead I plan to pursue with the obsessive concentration of my childhood self the creativity that has been in my heart since early days.

Since childhood I’ve had a fascination with the way age and use leave traces upon objects and places. Often these time-worn, human-touched things become even more precious, not due to their perfection but resulting from the evidence of the human lives involved. History and culture are reflected; the grand scale captured in tiny details and fragments of art that survived.

Using materials, media, textures and techniques that contribute to conveying my love for the time-worn, much loved feeling of treasures unearthed is very important to me.

Sometimes using simple, mundane media such as cement or polymer clay can offer a great flexibility for my projects. At other times using base metal such as bronze or precious metals such as fine silver and gold will be the best choice. The more I explore these media and my animal subjects, the more excited I become for this journey of discovery.

Using media that offers ease, immediacy, longevity and a satisfying level of both complexity and depth is going to be part of my focus as I go forward. These watchwords create a sense of eager anticipation in my artist's heart. They feel expansive rather than restrictive yet they still offer banks on the river of creative flow.

• Wabi Sabi is the Japanese aesthetic philosophy of appreciating imperfection, recognizing the beauty of impermanence and the effects of time and use on objects and landscapes.