Menhirs
Menhirs are standing stones to be found all over the world. Menhir is the name for a standing stone that the pre-historic or Neolithic people of the British Isles believed were repositories for the soul. Menhirs were placed at the edge of a field (to insure fertility) or set in temple-like circles, such as Stonehenge.
After graduate school, I began creating environments incorporating contemplative space. My installations suggested a Zen garden or rock formations skirted with sand and pebbles resembling a dry streambed. I believe that it is imperative that we look to the ways of ancient and indigenous cultures to learn better ways to walk upon the earth.
I moved toward beliefs in the equality and interdependence of all life, the immediacy of the earth and the importance of walking upon the earth as a sacred journey. My sculptures began to integrate human form with earth forms. I was particularly influenced by Lucy Lippard’s book Overlay which explores artists and earth works. I responded with sculptures up to nine feet high, of human figures moving in and out of earth forms and standing stones (Menhirs). Working with these ancient concepts in a contemporary environment helped to integrate my sense of the sacred with my art.
The gallery installations use materials such as hand dyed sand, rock, hand made stepping stones, slate, and sculptures made of cast Abaca paper. I create the sculptures in clay, made a plaster mold into which I cast Abaca - a tree root - paper pulp. When the paper pulp dries, it easily releases from the plaster mold.
Various Galleries
Long Beach City College, 1983
Landscape Redefined, OCCCA, 1984
Artists Against World Hunger, Fund Raiser, Irvine Meadows Amphitheater, 1985
Maquette, 1994
