Gardener of Peace

Artist's Statement

My most recent body of work, entitled “Gardener of Peace,” reveals new artistic territory intertwined with deeply held spiritual motifs. It all began when my friend and longtime collaborator, Craig Mindrum, asked me to create images to accompany the text of his freshly translated and reinterpreted “Peace Prayer” (attributed to St. Francis of Assisi and here renamed “Gardener of Peace”).

After several disappointing attempts to fulfill this request, it became clear that an entirely different approach was called for: namely, interpretation, not illustration. Instead of trying to depict the antithetical phrases that make up much of the prayer (hatred-love, despair-hope, discord-music...) I began to develop new work inspired by the underlying intentions of the prayer. Weaving together materials and imagery related to both gardening and peace-making brought cohesion to the work. In some cases, the prayer is directly incorporated into the artwork. Other pieces act as signifiers, rather than formal representations of the ideas conveyed by the prayer. I’m particularly excited by how these different approaches flow together harmoniously.

In addition to feeling freed-up artistically, I also sensed this interpretive strategy would give a wider audience the opportunity to respond to the art on a personal level, while still being true to my own faith and spiritual practices, which undergird the entire project.

Photographically based art (using current technology as well as vintage processes) continues to be my central medium. It was exciting to also explore a wide range of new materials and processes, including metals and patinas, woodworking and furniture design, found and collected objects, book design, and digital media animation. I’m gratified that this project has provided the opportunity to develop an extended range of “voices” for sharing my experiences and intentions. Still, my long-time focus on nature, beauty, transcendence and the connection between the inner life and life in the world continues to provide the very heartbeat of my artistic expression.