An Artist’s Statement 

 

 

My studies began at my father’s table saw, standing upon a box he built. The blade could be seen. The imminent danger, respected. I was four and eager.

 

Formal education ended at the University of Cincinnati - School of Design, Art and Architecture. Though the corporate world of Industrial Design was not my cup of tea, I left with the fundamentals firmly entrenched. My goal; place design into the hands of individuals who had no ready access. This experiment, at the edge of Appalachia, has had both apogee and perigee. I began this small business by hiring temporary employees from an agency firm.

 

 

Such efforts, plus decades of working as an optician in southern Ohio nursing centers, and numerous cases of blindness clarified my vision. Even though aesthetically pleasing and incomparably beautiful, funerary objects d’art, nevertheless, come too late. Voids, in the lives of loving survivors, remain.

 

Finally, an epiphany occurred. Create soothing works, unlike any others ever experienced. Expose the innate richness of nature’s creative process. Put these sculptures into loving hands. Pleasure, joy and comfort is assured. 

 

Thus, a bit of life remains. The original owners’ oils and caresses provide generations to come, a memory. Offspring deserve something better than a grim hunk of wood with a macabre purpose. Ancestors’ touch can now be sheltered, celebrated and treasured. Friends and families are kept in ‘contact’ as the patina deepens and enriches over the generations. 

 

These ‘Braille Sculptures’, in order to be seen, must first, be felt.

 

 

 

Enjoy....