Page 59 - WTP Vol. V #1

“I believe birth is a pathway to eternity.
Bones remain the sole witness of a mortal existence and pro- vide a narrative of our earthly life. My work shows that death is not morbid, but simply the end of growth; I strive to resurrect forgotten spirits and recover stories of those deceased. In my sculptures, bones have a voice and can speak for themselves.
I am as careful as I can be when working with natural material. Bones in particular are intricate and fragile, so I attempt to stabilize and preserve them with little alteration. When working with metal, I use magni cation to add as much detail as pos- sible, showing depth from a distance. I use a variety of tools such as Dremels, dental tools, and bone saws. Some tools I’ve made myself, and some I’ve modi ed.
One day, on a visit to The Peary Macmillan Arctic Museum at Bowdoin College, I saw a display of Inuit sculpture. I was moved to know I was not alone in my fascination with this beautiful medium. Seeing the way Inuits honored the spirit world with the same medium con rmed what I had discovered for myself. It was like I’d been given divine permission to push forward with my vision. I hope to educate my audience about the elegance of bones and present them as a beautiful and renewable medium with sacred signi cance.”
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