In my wood sculpture since 1985, my inspiration and subject have been
inseparable from the plant materials themselves. A twisted root, vine, or
sapling seemed to embrace or mimic a body or gesture. I have found the
materials on the beach, or deliberately gathered them from the woods or at
my favorite scavenging site, the tree dump at Ducky Noon¹s ³pit² in North
Truro. Friends have given me materials. Without a sketch or preconceived
idea, I carved or assembled the pieces until I identified some new sense of
body, gesture, or emotion.

"Lurking somewhere is the urge to pull and tear materials apart..." (from
notes in 1989)

Little did I know then in 1989 that I would actually pull and tear my own
sculptures apart to make this new work! I began scavenging parts from
several sculptures (some over 10 years old) and combining them to make
simple, understated, yet animated forms, just enough to seem to hold a body.
My relationship to the shapes was empathetic, and as I worked, the
sculptures would shift in their configuration--some pairing off in
relationships, others seeming to engage in a dance or frenzied mating
ritual. In current work I am cutting up or slicing the linear elements of
what were once 7-foot sculptures. I compress the fragments by stacking and
joining them into small solid forms that reveal only a memory of their shape
in nature, or a simple gestural detail of their former identity as a
sculpture.

The Schoolhouse is located at 494 Commercial Street, in Provincetown's historic East End Gallery District. The galleries are open daily from 11, and always by appointment. For information, please call Michael Carroll(508) 487.4800. xt 105