The Firehouse Art Center in Longmont, CO will be hosting a Harvest Exhibition that showcases local artists and farmers. Each artist was assigned a neighborhood farm where they would gather inspiration and motivation from nostalgic gear, animals and harvest. The creative arrangements will be featured at the opening reception on August 8^th from 6:00pm – 9:00pm.

It’s with great honor that I was selected to participate in this unparalleled exhibition. I was gifted with grazing Hops & Heifers Farm in Longmont, CO where everything from rusty pipes, and barbed wire to corroded tin roofs and decrepit fence posts found their way into my life. The adventure of breathing life into these items has been breathtaking and life changing.

It was inside my studio where I began envisioning and articulating artwork out of rubbish. I felt a tinge of self-worth knowing that these items were no longer lost. After countless days of brainstorming, sketching and deliberation, I formulated a plan to create five sculptures that speak to the pure and organic nature that Hops & Heifers Farm lives.

The process of constructing these sculptures has humbled and grounded me. To be an artist is to have a relationship with your pieces; it’s in the quiet of my studio where the sculptures express their needs. While the pieces aren’t complete, the finished product is instilled in my heart. I look forward to finalizing each sculpture and allowing them to tell their own story.

I am so grateful to Dale Katechis and his companions at Hops & Heifers farm for supplying me with fruitful materials. My everlasting appreciation is given to my friend Jim Tucker at Tucker Precision Machining for offering his helping hand, knowledge and tools. And finally, to my dear colleague, Julie Clement for helping me actualize these exclusive sculptures. I hope to see all of you at the opening reception and farm dinner; it’s times like these where the community can hold hands in unity and observe the delicacy around them.