I was born in Raetihi in 1956, one of six brothers and a sister and educated at Raetihi Primary School and Ruapehu College in Ohakune. I am married, have two adult children and live in Pinehaven, Upper Hutt. I have also lived and worked in Australia and the United States through the 1970’s and 80’s.
Over the past twenty years or so I have been developing my stone sculpture skills and experimenting with mixed media constructions, combining wood, stone, and metal; often making use of recycled materials as an inspiration for something new.
I have exhibited in select galleries and local art fairs throughout New Zealand. I have also had the great honour of producing an international piece (“Patritha” in collaboration with Lower Hutt artist Maria Heath) as a commission, presented to the city of Athens, Greece in 2004 by the NZ Olympic Committee. This sculpture is now located in the building that is home to the Greek Olympic Committee.
In creating, I like to utilise the inherent emotion of materials that have been worn and corroded and incorporate them into works that evoke a mixture of nostalgia and curiosity. My artistic direction is fluid and evolving, but I tend to be attracted first to form, then to texture and colour.
My aim is to create a form that is pleasing to the eye and emotionally comforting. Most of my work represents a transformation or alteration from a past use or form into a fresh entity sometimes purely abstract, other times familiar.
I continue to expand the types of materials and their uses in my creative work with the intention of staying fresh and alert to new directions.