Ebb and Flow—Basins and Benches
My work might oscillate between nature and not nature, but stone and nature will be there long after I am gone, and together, without me, they will safely have the last word.
Wave Bench. basalt. 2002. 33”x65”x32”
Curved Bench. basalt. 2013. 31”x64”x30”
Basalt Chairs. basalt. 2011. 30”x31”x31” each
Bench. granite. 2014. 19”x68”x27”
Egg Chair. granite. 2003. 61”x66”x64”
Basin 3. basalt (detail) 2013. 26”x26”x26”
Ripple. basalt. 2013. 24”x30”x22”
Basin 2. basalt. 2015
Basin 4. basalt (detail) 2013. 26”x26”x26”
Spirals Basin. basalt (detail). 2006. 38”x34”x34”
Basin and Bench. basalt. 2018.
Chairs. basalt, granite. 2018
Friday Harbor Pocket Park
In 2016 I was commissioned by the Town of Friday Harbor to create a stone chair and bench, and a table for Breezeway Park located downtown in the center of Friday Harbor. In 2018 the Association of Washington Cities awarded the Town of Friday Harbor the 2018 Municipal Excellence Award for Small City Success for creating Breezeway Park.
It was a great collaboration with local contractors, landscape designers, and the town administration. It took real foresight to imagine the positive impact this park would have by creating a hub where people could gather and stop within the urban flow. I feel lucky to be involved in my community as an artist and glad that the role of artist and stone carver can be part of the creationof a public space that all people can engage in and enjoy.
These are ancient stones that were tumbled and carried by glaciers and were softly carved and set here to offer a place to rest in the heart of a busy village. I am intrigued by the idea that almost everyone, regardless of where they come from, feels the instinct to sit with these stones.
It’s rarely a conscious choice. Something in the stone invites them.
I don’t want to know where it is—the line between my art and nature.