Summer Inspiration:

Late summer is the time when flowers surround us, and in my garden I'm overwhelmed by sprawling rudbeckia, cone flowers and other prairie plants at the peak of their performance. Each plant seems determined to spread its seeds, and indeed the seeds have made my flowers multiply in abundance.

It's impossible to appreciate all these lovely blossoms before they fade, and fall catches up with us, and perhaps that's why I capture as many images as I reasonably can throughout the season. Naturally, floral forms are an endless source of inspiration in my studio, and many of my favorite pieces bear a resemblance to blossoms of various sizes and shapes. The piece below is titled "Sunflower Form," and I designed it to function as a fountain, though I have yet to install a pump. I'm enjoying the piece just as it is for now.

During the summer I spend less time in my studio, in part because I have so much to tend to outside -- from vegetables to pick, weeds to pull, and cut flowers to put in vases. And let's face it -- a basement studio is just not that appealing on a beautiful summer day.