As a sculptor I have always been sensitive to the expressive qualities of different material. Material imparts meaning to three dimensional objects that deepens their subject matter. Working primarily with found and recycled material and metal, I try to create unusual juxtapositions and invert the hierarchy of preciousness. Re-imagining a violin was an interesting opportunity to explore some of these themes.

The title "Ague" means fever. It is an archaic usage which refers to malaria, a disease frequently contracted by workers harvesting the tropical hardwoods used in making violins, like the ebony fingerboard and tailpiece. The forged gold "strings" refer both to the beauty of the notes produced by the instrument and the misery of workers involved in mining gold. The animal remnant of the piece, the slackened sinuous horsehair of the disassembled bow, is like a puff of smoke, a release of the fever induced dream into imagination.

I have an undergraduate degree in English Literature from Bowdoin College, and an MFA in Metalsmithing and Sculpture from Montana State University. My studio work has been shown in numerous national exhibitions as well as recent shows at the A.I.R. Gallery in New York City. I have been a working artist and teacher in Stockton since 2000 and am currently the Curator of Education at The Haggin Museum.