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I am a New York born artist living in Pasadena, CA. Self taught, over the years I have explored and enjoyed a wide spectrum of mediums and techniques, from painting to sculpture. I've always been drawn toward the macbre and surreal. Halloween, Day of the Dead. Los Muertos are a rich source of inspiration for me. Throughout my work, there has always been a common thread of the dark and wimsical. Oddities are beautiful to me. My works have always portrayed the oddballs of the world...the misfits. When I became interested in art doll making, the creative possibilites of working in the three dimensional world of clay, wood, and wire was a natural progression from the two dimensional world of paint and canvas . Each art doll I create is different. I may have an idea of the "kind of doll" I'm going to make when I first sit down to work...it's facial features, size, costuming, even posture... but the final character is always an amusing surprise. During the creative process they evolve from a collection of clay and wire. They develop their own personalities and stories...showing me who they are as the work progresses. A few of the materials that I use in the creation of an art doll are air drying clay, wire, felt, feathers, cloth, paint, leather and wood. Birds often find their way into the world of my art doll characters. Sometimes a bird character in the form of a companion to the doll, other times just as feathers. Another recent creative interest I've become involved in is that of transforming used and forgotten canes into works of art which are both useful as well as beautiful. I start with used canes because each cane has a history, a story...a unique energy left behind by the person who relied upon it. The cane may sit in the corner of my work space for weeks before I start working on it. I like to live with it for awhile. Pick it up, walk with it, rub my hands on it...let it talk to me. I don't try to sand off or otherwise erase the natural bumps and scars from it's past. Like our own bumps and scars, they enhance and become part of their new life. Please take a moment and visit my Comeback Canes link above. I have been influenced by artists such as Scott Radke, Edward Gorey and Beth Robinson. I was introduced to the world of art dolls by the amazing work of Marlaine Verhelst. I usually have two or three projects going at once. Commissioned works, gift pieces, others just for fun.