"I grew up in Minnesota where there was a heightened sense of seasonal change. There was the stark intensity of winter, the revival of spring, that enveloping warmth of summer and the blazing intensity of fall. I spent a lot of time at our summer lake cabin. The luminous impact of sky and water, sunrise and sunset, has had a profound lifelong impact on me."
"I stumbled upon the condensation of water on a window in 2001 and I realized that the water transformed a normal landscape into a complex abstract painting. Or that it had the potential to do that and then I was obsessed with how water could change my view of everything — literally."
"I love to draw and perhaps it is something with the simplicity of the drawing material itself that also brings on simpler shapes, and more abstracted forms in my more recent work. I really do not think much about why these changes are happening, but change is exciting and opens new doors. I am interested in abstraction in itself, in tension and harmony between color and forms, and layers that partially hide but also hints to a narrative."
"Abstract landscape painting allows for concepts, ideas and messages to be subtly woven into the depiction of a place. There are many entry points into a painting depending on how deep the viewer wants to go. Aesthetic, scientific, historical, environmental, contemplative, spiritual, healing etc. Being in Nature is a special experience. A ‘Be, Here, Now’ moment that we all yearn for."
"Fabric is fundamental to my process. It is an intimate part of our lives. It protects us from the elements, gives us comfort, and a means to express ourselves. It is sensual and essential. I am drawn to fabric because of its changeability and its constancy."
"I opted for this "erosion of culture" idiom when I started this line of book work, because I thought it was a good way to connect with our collective preoccupations in the beginning of the 21st century. But it was obvious from the start that my paintings didn’t fit into that frame. As a sculptor, I feel that I am a not placing things in space but rather collaborating with space, as though we were partners, trying to get the job done."
"The natural world is diminishing, but less trodden land does remain in the well-tracked contemporary globe we inhabit. The less trampled lands that I seek are harder to get to, but only require a few hours before you are there – in places that haven’t been industrialized, and aren’t full of tourists. The world's arctic, deserts and mountains, places that some see as wasteland, have held my attention for fifty years. A great advantage of being an artist is that it is like belonging to a fraternity of people who explore and enjoy the attributes of places; local things people do in crazy landscapes."
"The responsiveness and tactile quality of clay feels like an extension of my hands. I’ve played, worked, triumphed and failed with it for the last 16 years. I enjoy the imprints I leave behind, the roughness of the sand or grog, and the ease with which I can press into a form."
"I consciously decided to focus on trees because they fascinate me. One of their features is as a universal symbol in almost every culture. Most people associate trees with life, growth, shelter, strength, stamina, longevity, ecology and so on. It’s a long list. But the richness of themes affords me with a great many perspectives that I may use."
"I find all the steps to making a work satisfying. Depending on what I’m working on, I really like taking photographs, especially while traveling. The time I spend either manipulating images or just correcting for sharpness or colour etc. is also something I enjoy. Painting onto a printed / mounted / piece, is the most, energizing and apprehensive part of the process. You get one shot at it most of the time."
"I like the enduring nature of stone – although it is kind of an illusion, all things fade with time. Stone outlasts our lifetimes, it’s hard and resistant and not easy to work."
"Of all the necessities, this quarantine made me even more connected to my family and to become conscious about ideas that I left for ‘another time’. On a day-to-day basis, I feel it is most important to be less concerned with long-term questions about the past, rather than to foster and reflect on ideas of today."