The Story Behind My New "Coastal Creations" Sculpture Series

If you’re like me, coastal beauty speaks to your heart. There’s just something about the unrivaled ability of its sights, sounds, and smells to soothe and refresh from the inside-out. Perhaps this comes from the way the sea reflects the beauty, creativity, and grandeur of its Maker.

My coastal affections came alive in me at a young age during our family’s annual trips to the Delaware beaches. Those early days spent exploring, playing, and wondering kindled a happy, lifelong love affair with all things coastal. Over the years, I’ve logged countless miles and moments in coastal areas around the world. I create each coastal artwork to invite you into these experiences and to enjoy the refreshment that follows.

I personally handcraft each unique sculpture, merging my design inspiration with sustainably-forested wood and other materials to tell coastal stories. Water-based color and clear coats enhance these stories by highlighting the wood grain instead of covering it as paint would. Varied textures and finishes, along with dimensional elements, play with light to bring life and depth to each piece. The results are beautiful coastal stories beautifully told. Here’s a good example: Kite Surfer.

I was first inspired by kite surfing as a sculptural theme while sitting in my beach chair at Moorings Beach in Naples, Florida. That’s where I was captivated by several kite surfers who cavorted on the vast, undulating, liquid dance floor before me. Their forms and movements were fascinating. Later that day, I created a few sketches I hoped to someday translate into sculpture. Many years later, I finally set about that happy work. This piece celebrates the sea-and-air-borne joy I saw that day in Naples – hair wildly flying, hand up in a burst of glee, board flashing with flair, and sail bent to catch the wind. The shapes, colors, finishes, and contours of each form in this sculpture bring me back to that day in Naples when I first saw this sight. I even designed the sculpture without tethers between surfer and sail so each element can be installed with artistic license (e.g., more or less spacing as desired). After installation, I urge you to pull up a chair and imagine the dance, allowing yourself to be captivated as I was by its movement and beauty.