As a child, I regularly carved turtles and elephants from new bars of Ivory Soap. I spent a majority of my childhood in an imaginary world, with art consuming my playtime.  As an adult, exercising my creativity has been a gift that has proven valuable in all areas of my life. In Emergency Medicine I practice the “art of medicine”. Here my intuitive senses and genuine empathy are as valuable as my fund of knowledge. So, my path from physician to sculptor has not been as circuitous as it might seem.

 

Whimsical, endearing, uplifting and thought-provoking are all words I have heard when others describe my work.  I love this because I aspire to evoke common emotions regarding valuable life lessons, love for family and gratitude for the gift of life.  Divided into two main genres, the stories told cross all walks of life.  My Muses are 24-inch females (mostly), stylized and idealized but anatomically accurate and believable.  My collection of Loved and Endangered Species is a challenge and has been a natural progression in my never-ending curiosity.  My love for anatomy and kinesiology does not limit itself to one species.

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Each piece originates from some otherworldly creative space, that has been nurtured in my character since childhood.  Usually, in the late night or wee hours of the morning, a creative visualization awakens me and spins through my head.  It seems to be an amalgam of life experiences and my unconcise emotional processing of them.  The subject and pose are solidified but only during the process, do I recognize the meaning I want to convey.  While sculpting, fun titles swirl around and I write them on the armature board.  In the end, the best title shows itself without question.

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Modeling in oil-based clay is only the beginning.  The multiple-step process involves travel and relationships.  First to the mold maker in Madison, KS, then the foundry in Lawrence, KS, patina artist in Loveland, CO, granite shop in Nixa, MO and then back to my Table Rock studio for professional photos.  As the conductor, I recognize the end result is a product of multiple artistic souls coming together for our masterpiece.   

The online marketing…..ummmm….. is the thorn in my side.  As a doctor living at Table Rock Lake my studio defaulted to the name “Doc on the Rock.” It also serves as a makeshift gallery and workshop for locals, friends and neighbors.  At times it is a clinic, where I suture, assess, and refer to the ER for more extensive workup.  I love this life.  I have the best of both worlds.

 

Art is still my playtime.  It helps me reach a state of mindfulness, relaxation, meditation, and peace.   Watching animals is fun homework, especially in comparison to anatomy lab. Whether human or animal, my subject matter always tugs at my heartstrings and usually represents a universal lesson I have learned in life. 

 

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Patiently Waiting   (My poem about art and medicine )

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Since I can remember

They have always been there

Those heavy lines and creases

That map out my life

          Upon my hands

 

While other little plump moist fingers

Molded clay ashtrays

For their mothers

Mine were sculpting shapes

          Without bases

 

Defying nature…

Much older and wiser than me

They tailored Barbie dresses

As if anticipating

          Suturing faces

 

Scaling the keyboard

They would lure my father in

Baited by the music

He would pace until he’d win

          And my fingers would yield to his

 

They’ve grown accustomed

To turning pages

Highlighting phrases

Carefully selected to

          Always be remembered

 

And while drawing soft circles

On little bedtime backs

As eyelids get heavy

They sense the same lure of music

          Alive in one son 

 

And feel the same hands

With those lines and creases

Small reproductions of mine

In the other son

          Defying nature…

 

Hidden as a child

These grandma hands

Have patiently waited

For the rest of me

          To grow into them

 

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