I escape limitations in my daily swims, the mind as free as the body. The best ideas come effortlessly — about creating, teaching, and relationships.

I used myself as the model. The swimmer is coil-built, nearly life-size, and the biggest sculpture I’ve brought to completion. Salt firing adds a sheen and texture that glistens almost like water.

Exhibited Jan-Mar 2025 at Schaefer International Gallery’s Schaefer Portrait Challenge at the Maui Arts and Cultural Center and Jan-July 2026 at Capitol Modern Museum in Honolulu, Hawaii.

Title: Facing Reality

It has been interesting really seeing what stares back at me from the mirror.  In making this piece I have faced all the sags, bags, and wrinkles that I've never truly acknowledged.

On good days I actually embrace my age and enjoy the wisdom and other benefits of life's experiences.  I am enjoying a greater ease in managing relationships, an emerging role as elder and mentor when teaching, and a growing ability to take myself and life less seriously. 
Of course there are less pleasant days, and sometimes weeks, when the effects of time are painful.  I tend to look on the bright side, so I work to find my way back to joy, appreciation, and gratitude.

Title: Free

I escape my own weight and limitations in my daily swims. I feel almost as if I’m flying. Consciousness of time fades away. My mind becomes as free as my body, drifting, sometimes completely empty, sometimes 100% in my physical being. And the best ideas come to me effortlessly while I’m swimming: ideas about my artwork, ideas about teaching, ideas about relationships….