The element of familiarity and the mystery of the strange, in combination with simple suggestion, are what saturate great art. It has a way of inviting us and capturing our attention, while at the same time not alienating us with a concept too deep. The watcher may not always fully understand an artwork (curiosity is important for the life of art anyway) but great art allows some layers to be revealed while it entices with what it keeps to itself.

The job of the artist is to successfully plant a suggestion, at the same time leaving some part to the imagination, all while maintaining honesty (so goes the struggle between artist and art). Art is a form of communication used to explain, to transcend the watcher, and to raise questions. It is the job of the watcher to be curious-- to take the time to ask the questions that the art proposes and to participate in the discovery. As in life, art is presented like a situation. What is made of that situation is up to the watcher.

Throughout my ongoing relationship with art, the tendency to take oneself too seriously has proved to be all too easy.  Counterbalancing this, I have found that embracing humility as a personal struggle seems to add a warmth and comfort to my work. The interplay between humor and seriousness helps mold a depth that I try to attain. In my work, there are different layers that I want to be discovered, either separately or all together. Among others, I try to suggest that my pieces could be authentic, either in age or tradition. But I also want to suggest that they are blatant reproductions, although with a craftsmanship that maintains honesty. I would like the watcher to ask what makes something real and note how little it takes to alter reality.

It is the push-and-pull between the comfort of the familiar and the uneasiness of the strange that causes us to take another look. When one never compromises the other, we feel the need to make sense of the two. It is this that makes art self-perpetuating.