When an artist puts their work out into the world there is the expectation that everyone will have their own interpretation of its meaning despite the intent. My interpretations embrace parody, cartoons and impressions which are classic forms of humor and insight and are central to my current work.

I have a lot of envy for many great artists. They are blessed with the ability to work hard exploring techniques and developing the skills to bring their spectacular visions into being. Frequently I wish theirs was the work I made then I figured out a way it can be, albeit on a different scale.

Copying the work of the Masters, contemporary or historical, has always been an instrument of art education. When I incorporate aspects of others art work I examine it much more closely and thus extract greater meaning and a deeper appreciation of the work. Most of the artist’s work I employ I have had friendships with or short encounters which amuse me or create a lasting impression (except in the obvious cases like Michelangelo and DaVinci). Their art creeps into my imagination mingling with others art and engaging in — perhaps — uncharacteristic behaviors. Inspired by the personality of the maker and my relationship to them it emerges in the physical form of their artwork but on my terms.

One of the figures most consistently present in my work is me as a child in my first Holy Communion veil and white cotton children’s underpants. First Holy Communion is a Catholic ritual where a child reaches a certain age and they are considered ready to participate in this important element of the Catholic mass and faith. This age is a time in a person’s development when they have developed more awareness of the fact that they are not the center of the universe and have the ability to understand more religious ideas like sin. This personal caricature represents this transition in my life and embraces the rebellion born from it.

Porcelain is my primary medium. It is traditionally associated with luxury, wealth and fineness. Nineteenth century Parian Ware figurines were made of unglazed porcelain to suggest the famous marble used for sculpture in Classical Greece. They made imagery from popular public sculpture and famous paintings more readily available at a miniaturized scale for the home. Figurines of the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries depicted light-hearted genre scenes as well as historical subjects. My figures play on the viewer’s expectation of the medium by inserting complex and personal psychological content into the decorative realm of the figurine.