Transforming wood into sculpture is an act of discovery. Beginning with the wood, I see what it has to offer and where this can lead me. What can be done with a log full of cracks, a knotted burl, a precut plank, or even a half-rotted stump? What will the final piece look like? The particular characteristics of a piece of wood determine what I will cut away and what I will keep. As I am working, each new curve or angle carved from the wood reveals what the next step will be. Each wandering crack is a new challenging clue. Like a dinosaur bone buried in earth, the sculpture is in there somewhere, and I will find it! I create my sculptures as starting points for the imagination. I capture glimpses of hidden worlds that peek around the edges of everyday reality. When the opportunity arises, they unfold fully formed and strangely familiar. And even though we do not always know what is going on, we do know something IS going on. When I am carving a character, the scenario or story they are in or the emotions conjured releases the imagination. In my more abstract pieces I create shapes that are reminiscent of natural forces, of birds and fish and currents of wind, that welcome multiple interpretations. I am thrilled when someone tells me they see something in one of my sculptures that I didn’t even consider. My work is about discovery, both during the process of making and experiencing a finished piece.

I am an artist whose prominent medium is sculpture in wood. I am also a poet, collage artist, painter, filmmaker, and sound designer. I am self-taught and have been carving wood since 1998. I presently reside in Vancouver and work from a studio at “Dynamo Arts Association” in the heart of downtown Eastside Vancouver.

Please contact Conrad if you are interested in his work.

Some representative pieces are presented below.