'Hard Matter' was originally an installation of 28 cormorants constructed of armature wire, paper, and wallpaper paste. Each bird is approximately 24" tall.

Artist's statement: "This piece of art is about observation and environment. I had the privilege of living on a boat in the Connecticut River for five summers. During this time, I became very intimate with the wildlife and rhythms of a river in summer. I was especially drawn to birds and cormorants, in particular. Cormorants are survivors. They fish, they swim, they fight, and miraculously, they dry their wings in the sun. I was struck over and over again by how birdlike we humans are and how our own peculiar habits inform who we are."