Long before I ever thought about “being” an artist I remember reading a newspaper column (by Drew Bacigalupa in Santa Fe) where he said that nobody ever decides to become an artist, some of us just can't keep from doing it.  Back then I didn't know what he meant, but I still remember the words and now perhaps I understand them better. 

My own creative journey to that understanding has taken many curious paths.  It began with photography in the 1960s, when it was still done with silver and light (but in the dark).  It’s gone on to include sifting through earth and time as an archaeologist; many years of working with wood in all its forms, from house framing to hand-carved furniture; and then working with living trees and ecosystems as a practitioner of ecological restoration.  Now it’s circled back to visual art, but still with a connection to wood.  And trees…

I’ve studied art, and other things, at Colorado College, the University of New Mexico, the University of Manchester (UK), and the Massachusetts College of Art.  I've always been attracted to printmaking, ever since my early photographs, and I've also been fortunate enough to work with some wonderful mentors, including photographer Frank Newlander and printmakers Jean Gumpper, Siri Beckman, Matt Brown, and Jim Lee.

The alchemy of printmaking has always fascinated me.  It transmutes a visual idea through the crucibles of drawing, carving, inking, and printing into a finished image that holds some surprises for its maker, and hopefully some delight for its viewer.  For me, the very indirectness of making prints – carving first (backwards) where the "marks" - the carvngs - will be white, then patiently adding color and shape in many layers, not knowing what it will finally look like till the end of the process - invites the unexpected, in contradiction, you might think, to its technical demands. Playing with that contradiction is part of my creative process.

My first prints grew out of a fascination with medieval art, especially carving, and a desire to somehow rediscover, celebrate, and share the exuberant wonder of sculpture created almost a thousand years ago. I still love exploring those images. In addition, since becoming a full-time artist I spend more time in the here and now as well, exploring the visual wonder of the contemporary world with – and beyond – more representational work.

I grew up and lived for many years in Santa Fe, New Mexico (as well as in Britain, Italy, and Peru) and moved to the coast of Maine in 2013.  My print studio, the Merrymeeting Press, opened in downtown Bath in 2015.  The studio is now located at 40 Lemont Street, Bath, Maine 04530.  If you're in town please let me know - and come on by!

Represented by the Green Lion Gallery online; Dromore Grange Gallery, Phippsburg, ME; and The New Leaf Gallery, Weybridge, VT.
Artist Member, Center for Maine Contemporary Art; Union of Maine Visual Artists

Awards:

Americas 2015 All Media Exhibition, Minot, ND, 2015 - Merit Award; Purchase Award

"Notable Maine Artist", MAINE Magazine, 2019

Colors of Humanity, Everett, PA, online exhibition "Water", 2021 - Noteworthy award

Ann-Marie Sculpture Garden, Solomons, MD, "Shine" exhibition, 2021 - Juror's Award winner

Selected for the Second Arequipa Print Biennial, Arequipa, Peru, 2021

Recent exhibitions:

Haystack Mountain School of Crafts, Center for Community Programs, Deer Isle, ME, 2014
Pearson Legacy Gallery, Deer Isle, ME, 2014
National Small Print Show, Creede, CO, 2015 & 2016 - Selected for traveling exhibition
Americas 2015 All Media Exhibition, Minot, ND, 2015 - Merit Award; Purchase Award
Handmade Papers Gallery, Brooklin, ME,  2015
Blue Hill Public Library, 2015
River Arts Gallery, Damariscotta, ME, 2016.
Christchurch Cathedral, Cincinnati, OH, "The Art of Wonder", 2016
Concord Art Association, Concord, MA, 2016.
Kyoto (Japan) International Woodprint Exhibition, May, 2016
Topsham, ME Public Library, 2017
River Arts Gallery, Damariscotta, ME 2018
Studio 53 Gallery, Boothbay Harbor, ME, 2018
Maine-Aomori Print Exchange, Maine and Aomori, Japan, 2019
Museo de Arte Mercedes, online exhibition, Buenos Aires, Argentina, 2020.
Gallery 118, virtual exhibition "Tell Me More", 2021
Colors of Humanity, Everett, PA, online exhibition "Water", 2021 - Noteworthy award
Ann-Marie Sculpture Garden, Solomons, MD, "Shine" exhibition, 2021 - Juror's Award winner
Second Arequipa Print Biennial, Arequipa, Peru, 2021 

​Maryland Federation of Art, "Art on Paper" exhibition, Annapolis, MD, 2023.

My work is in the permanent collections of the Northwest Art Center, Minot, ND, USA, the Kyoto International Woodprint Association in Japan, the Maine-Aomori Print Exchange in the USA and Japan, and the Arequipa Print Biennial in Peru. It's also in private collections across the USA, the UK, and Peru.