I became a photographer only in mid-life and only after I came to Block Island. It helped a lot that there was beauty everywhere I looked. It also helped that I was encouraged by my fellow artists at the Spring Street Gallery. As I began to share my work through the Gallery, I met people in the community who liked my work. We learned that we were moved by the same beauty and this turned into deep connections and into friendship.

So all in all, those first steps I took as a beginning photographer led far beyond what I could have imagined. It became a wonderful thing in my life.

I’ve been working with clay on and off since the early 70’s. I was introduced to pottery while at SUNY Oswego and was fortunate to have some very dynamic and talented teachers in both industrial and art ceramics. My early work was all functional stoneware and in a few years I started working in porcelain as well. Now all of my work is low fired and includes terra-cotta, Raku, and pit-fired pieces.

My wife and I moved to Block Island in 1981 and have been living here year round since then. I know that living on Block Island has shaped me as an artist. I feel that my work is subtler and more organic these days. The colors and textures of winter can be found in my pit-fired work while Raku is more spontaneous and bright like the vivid colors of a clear winter’s day. My forms evolve from what I see in nature; the erosion of a bank that exposes the stratification of the soil, the wind blown weathering of all that’s around me, the texture and color of seaweed and driftwood washed up on the shore, and the various colors and images of the changing seasons. The winter brings long quiet hours of contentment in my studio while working with wood and clay as my wood stove warms my space.