THE BIRD SCULPTURES, started in 1993, were the first representational forms that I had made in many years. They came about because of artist’s block, an exhibition deadline, a life-long fascination with the antics of birds and the influences of the work I had seen at Shelburne Museum, of 19th century folk artist Wilhelm Schimmel who carved very ugly American eagles.

One day while trying to get started on work for an exhibition, crunching up sheets of newpapers and taping them together with drafting tape a bird appeared and for the next three years birds of various shapes and forms evolved in my studio. I became interested in how one creates the sense of flying with static materials, and the essence of “birdness” with minimal amounts of materials and gestures.