Short Bio
I've worked with animals in many ways throughout my life. Starting with horses, then cats and dogs, then rats and mice. Now I bring animals to life, after death, through art.
Statement
Recent history has brought me to a rural setting in southeast Michigan where I enjoy life on a 20 acre farm, raising beef cattle and keeping horses. Due to difficulties in birth, calves and sometimes the cow herself do not survive. Making art of the bones that remain is one way to keep their memory alive. When making art from animal bones became a new passion for me, I began collecting a variety of animals postmortem such as; squirrels, racoons, opossum, rats, mice and moles.
I owe much of my success to Morgana, the owner of an oddities shop in Ypsilanti Michigan. Morgana helped me understand the rules and regulations that go along with collecting and using animal bones for art. She guided and critiqued my work during the process of collecting and cleaning bones. She currently sells my art in her store.
I love exploring the many ways animal bones can be displayed as artwork and embellished on jewelry. There are two to three hundred bones in every animal, all uniquely beautiful. I like to create pieces of art or jewelry from bones of different parts of the animal and sometimes mix different animal bones on one piece. I add flowers and small findings and/or figurines to enhance the feeling of the piece.
Artwork created from animal bones may not be your cup of tea, one thing is for sure; it is in no way inhumane. All bones are collected postmortem. Bones are carefully cleaned and sanitized and lovingly transformed into something new and beautiful.
Biography
Certified Horse Manager
Licensed Veterinary Technician
Laboratory Animal Technologist
