Headlands Center for the Arts

Artist Statement

Landscape is a central theme in my work, whether in the form of artistic, social, civic, or ecological practice such as the Flow events—artistic gatherings on the Upper Delaware River and Catskill Mountain Park celebrating pure water, SkyDog Supper Club, or First Supper, food events organized to build community and hope for struggling rural agricultural communities seeking solutions from outdated regional planning or lack thereof. The intersection of landscape and community provides inspiration for my current work. A more formal aesthetic approach to landscape speaks of my background of sculpture and farming in the Living Earthwork series (Water Garden, John Street Pasture, Earth Totems), interdisciplinary land art compositions utilizing basic organic material process to create earthen and botanical forms of beauty and wonder.

While At Headlands

While in residence at Headlands, I plan to research the oral history and traditional farming techniques used by indigenous and early colonial settlers of Marin County, California and its outlying geographic regions in pursuit of continuing my investigations in dry farming applications that can be researched and documented to benefit local communities and elsewhere. It is my hope to sit down with Malcom Margolin of HeyDay Press in Berkeley to learn from his wisdom of the Bay Area and Marin County. Interaction with existing community gardens and seed banks will also be valued as part of this research. Drawings, maps, and schematics will be produced in the process of this regional land use study intensive.