Art is a narrative. The artist is a storyteller.

 

As human beings we are compelled to tell stories about our lives, to weave disparate threads into a cohesive statement. As one of the penultimate storytelling styles, art is more than the sum of its parts - it is a continuous stream that has equal poignance from conception to execution, stretching back into the training that allows a work to be realized, and forward into that work’s custodianship.

 

As a student of the Japanese metalworking tradition, I’ve discovered there are many stories to tell. By crafting work entirely by hand using traditional methods, I maintain a continuity in technique that is hundreds of years old. By regularly studying master works, I work towards understanding why my forebears made a piece the way they did, so that I may apply that philosophy to my own work. By engaging in constant practice and experimentation I establish and maintain a feel for the work that relies less on intellect and more on emotion. Even the metal has its own story to tell, if one is able to see it.

 

It is my intent that the stories I tell through my work are not only faithful to how they were told to me, but also that they convey a vibrancy and relevance to the viewer. Because everyone loves a good story.