Interest in saving and transforming cast-off inanimate materials led me to saving and revitalizing live creatures that struggle to exist on our streets.
Over the years I have rescued dozens of discarded or orphaned dogs, cats and kittens and found homes for most of them. These creatures are valuable works of art of the highest order. Their value is affirmed when I receive feedback of their therapeutic effects on individuals dealing with illness. Had these animals not been saved, they would share the same fate of most cast-off inanimate objects, but they would feel it.
Recycled parts and materials have increasingly become the medium of choice for me. At the moment, I am completing a series of masks that consist of a conglomeration of unrelated parts and materials. The wide variety makes the process fun and interesting, despite the unique technical challenges that differ from piece to piece.
Creating the masks which are faces themselves originally struck me as simplistic and child-like until I began to appreciate the infinite subtle nuances, feature combinations and expressions to which we humans are hard-wired to respond.
The Hebrew word for face, panim, is close to the words lifnim,before, and bifnim, inside, indicating that there is more to the face than meets the eye.
While it is always interesting to work with different man-made parts and materials, I find myself regularly gravitating towards natural stone and marble as a counter-balance. As you begin to chisel away at the stone, the natural tones and nuances begin to emerge and reveal a hint of its character which continues to evolve throughout the process. The work requires a different mindset. The pieces I am working on are curvalinear, abstract and semi-abstract shapes that appear differently to each individual. I try to maintain continuity in the juxtaposition of different shapes as they transition from one area to another. The piece should be pleasing to gaze at and one’s eye should travel easily around the form. When I achieve this effect I feel I fulfill my obligation to infuse some aspect of universality into the work, even in abstract form. I have always felt that art made for public consumption must have some common factor that comes across. So when a piece of my work ignites the mind, calms the spirit, or causes a smile, I feel it has served its purpose and I too, have done my part.