From an early age I knew that my life would be about creating beautiful things. My working career began with the design and maintenance of beautiful gardens in the parks systems of Greater Victoria. This experience taught me in a very personal way, how the beauty around us, whether natural or created, enhanced the quality of life of all who experienced it.
Following this, I began a business designing garden spaces for residential and commercial clients. I became a specialist in ornamental plantings and hardscape design, installation and maintenance. My horticultural journeys have taken me to involvement with many of the most prominent and beautiful public gardens in Greater Victoria in British Columbia, Canada.
It was natural that my landscaping experiences led me to the shaping and modifying of stones. As I learned the methods and tools involved in sculpting stone, a passion was revealed in me which continues to this day. I was drawn to the hardness and permanence of stone, in contrast to the temporary and ever changing nature of plants. I started with granite, mainly because it was available and affordable. After learning to carve such a hard material, graduating to basalt, marble, onyx, serpentine and stones like brucite seemed easy to me. My favourite part of the process was polishing. I was astounded what various stones looked like when their full beauty was revealed. Then one day I discovered jade.
I learned that jade is formed deep in the earth, under unimaginable heat and pressure, as tectonic plates in the earth’s crust collide and move over each other. The process of jade formation takes millions of years. No wonder it is considered by many cultures, ancient and modern, as sacred. The polishing of various jades revealed a beauty I found simply captivating. Since that time, I have been principally a carver of jade, although I am still drawn to the beauty of other stones such as classic Italian marble.
Some of my work conveys a message through metaphor, some is an expression of my continuing utter amazement at the beauty I see all around me.
“Don't only practice your art, but force your way into its secrets, for it and knowledge can raise men to the divine.”
Ludwig van Beethoven