Artist Statement

My preoccupation with wood began on 30 November, 2002, at approximately 1:00pm.  On that Saturday my wife and I visited the Yale Art Gallery (New Haven, CT) to view a now landmark exhibit, “Wood Turning in America since 1930”.  I had absolutely no idea how this would impact me, but I could barely contain my excitement as I discovered such accomplished artists as Michael Hosaluk, Stoney Lamar and others. The catalog from this exhibit is now one of my prized reference books.  More recently I have been influenced by the work of New Zealand turner Graeme Priddle, and American turner/sculptor William Hunter. The work of these latter two artists demonstrate clearly how turning, sculpture and metals can be spliced together to provide an intimate view of how the artist perceives key elements of their environments, ranging from the sounds and sights of fast moving water and ocean-dwelling creatures to the erosion of rock and earth over millennia.

My recent work has consisted of a multi-year attempt to blend my awe of our natural world, from the cell level to the organism, and my professional work as a neurobiologist, with my study of three-dimensional form and composition in wood and metals.

Throughout my training and academic career, as a clinical psychologist and neuroscientist, I have always protected both time and educational opportunities as an artist.  I have largely pursued artistic education in the same manner as I have my scientific training - by relying on the skills, experience and wisdom of individual mentors. I have studied under generous teachers (mostly now deceased) who sought to develop my eye for composition, form and balance; and for the past fifteen years in the use of one of mankind's oldest materials for artistic creation - wood.  My overarching goal is to intertwine various media together with my biologist's understanding of the natural world, and with my consideration of human experience as a psychologist, to convey ideas that I am only now beginning to fully imagine. I am currently working to master the technical challenges inherent in mixing wood with metal, so that the two combine with fluidity to tell unique stories.

Curriculum Vitae

PROFILE

Twenty-eight years of persistent practice as a photographer, ceramicist, woodturner and writer. Professional training as a clinical neuropsychologist and cognitive neuroscientist.  Currently serves as the Vice President for Research and Economic Development, and as Professor of Biomedical & Pharmaceutical Sciences, at the University of Rhode Island (academic Curriculum Vitaeprovided on request).  Research program spanning twenty years, with over 130 peer-reviewed publications, five professional books published, journal editing, clinical neuropsychology practice and mentoring for doctoral students, interns and residents.  

Abiding interests in the exploration of how biology, human psychology, scientific practice and visual artare interconnected as forms of expression and communication.

 

RELEVANT ACADEMIC APPOINTMENTS

2013 –             Scholar-in-Residence, Department of Industrial Design, Division of Architecture

Present              and Design, Rhode Island School of Design, Providence, RI.

 

PUBLISHED ARTWORK

Cover Photograph, Alzheimer’s & Dementia: Diagnosis, Assessment & Disease Monitoring.  (The Open Access Journal of the Alzheimer’s Association). Volume 1, 2015 publication year.  Portion of large vessel (36”d x 8” h) with various types of neurons depicted around the rim. Claro walnut burl with brass inlay and pyrography. Close-up portion of the rim with the Golgi stain motif of a cerebellar Purkinje cell (based on an original drawing by Santiago Ramón y Cajal [1852 – 1934]). URL: http://www.dadm.alzdem.com/image-archive

Cover Photograph, Alzheimer’s & Dementia: The Journal of the Alzheimer’s Association- Vol. 10, Issue 2, March, 2014.  Optic disc & retinal vasculature.  Spalted box elder platter with pyrography, and superimposed retinal optical coherence tomography image of artist’s right retinal vasculature.

Cover Photograph, Alzheimer’s & Dementia: The Journal of the Alzheimer’s Association- Vol. 9, Issue 2, March, 2013. Retinal Ganglion Cell Vessel I. Manzanita burl with pyrography, brass powder inlay, cold-formed steel and leather.

Cover Photograph, Alzheimer’s & Dementia: The Journal of the Alzheimer’s Association- Vol. 8, Issue 2, March, 2012. Photograph of detail from woodturned vessel with copper leaf and pyrography, with design based on silver stain drawing of cerebellar purkinje cell by Santiago Ramón y Cajal.

Cover Photograph, Alzheimer’s & Dementia: The Journal of the Alzheimer’s Association- Vol. 7, Issue 6, November, 2011.  Photograph of detail from woodturned vessel with copper leaf and pyrography, with design based on 1909 silver stain drawing of hippocampal pyramidal neuron by Camilo Golgi. (first-ever use of an artistic expression on the cover of this scientific journal)

Art Direction/Cover Design, 2009-2010 & 2018-2019 Reports on Research, Lifespan Health System, Providence, RI.  Art direction, including cover design, for a biannual report on biomedical research activities, for the 350 faculty and 600 staff who collectively manage an $84MM annual research portfolio, across the five major teaching hospitals of the Alpert Medical School of Brown University.

Cover Art/Montage, Science and the Media (Snyder, Mayes & Spencer), Elsevier Ltd., Amsterdam & New York), 2009. Cover design, photography and montage for book published by Academic Press, an imprint of Elsevier B.V. Publisher.

Cover Art/Montage, Handbook of Clinical Neuropsychology, 2ndEd., APA Books, Inc., Washington, D.C., 2005 Cover design, photography and montage for handbook published by the American Psychological Association, APA Books, Inc.

Cover Photograph, Science SpectraMagazine, issue 19, September, 2000. Cover photograph (Hyacinth Macaw) for British science magazine (equivalent to “Scientific American” in the United Kingdom)

 

EXHIBITING ARTIST - CURATED EXHIBITIONS

Locally Made. Rhode Island Makers of Fine Craft.Curated by Patricia Phillips, Dean of Graduate Studies, Rhode Island School of Design. RISD Museum, October, 2013.

Carrefour: Intersections of Biomedical Research & Art. Sol Koffler Gallery, Rhode Island School of Design, Providence, RI. 21 June – 19 July, 2013. (Curated by P.J. Snyder, P. Phillips, B. Allina)

2014 Biennial Juried Members Exhibition. Curated by Arthur Dion, Director of Gallery NAGA. Fuller Craft Museum,, Brockton, MA. 25 October, 2014 – 15 February, 2015.

Interstice: Memory, Mind & Alzheimer’s Disease.  Cohen Gallery, The Granoff Center of Brown University, Providence, RI. 15 July – 13 September, 2015.  A curated experience by five artists, led by P.J. Snyder & B. Allina.

Ethos.  Ethnographic Portraiture.  Solo photography exhibit.  Atrium of the Alpert Medical School of Brown University, Providence, RI. 06 September – 04 November, 2017 

Energy | Form | Balance.  Contemporary work by Karen Rand Anderson, Peter J. Snyder & Kevin Gilmore.  The Maxwell Mays Gallery, 11 Thomas Street, Providence, RI.  03 June – 22 June, 2018.

 

EXHIBITION JUROR

2017 Cerebrospinal Fluid (CSF) Symposium Exhibit: The Integration of Art, Science and Medicine. Sponsored by the Art League of Rhode Island and the Alpert Medical School of Brown University, Providence, RI.  Exhibit Installation at the Alpert Medical School: 16 June – 30 August, 2017.

 

COLLECTIONS (Public, Corporate or Private)

Dean’s Office Museum, College of Pharmacy, The University of Rhode Island, Kingston, RI.

Rhode Island Hospital (permanent installation in Clinical Research Center), Providence, RI.

Susan and William Reeves, Barrington, RI. (private collection)

University Neurology Foundation, Providence, RI.

 

COURSE INSTRUCTION

Designing for an Aging Population. Spring 2011, 2012, 2013, 2015 & 2016 semesters.  Advanced studio course (upper-level undergraduate and masters students), Department of Industrial Design, Rhode Island School of Design, Providence, RI.

 

INVITED LECTURES

Perils, Pitfalls and Joys: Visual Art and the Communication of Complex Data. Series of three lectures and discussion panels, led by neuroscientist and artist, Prof. Peter J. Snyder, Interplanetary Geologist and Explorer, Prof. James Head, and Illustrator/Author, David Macauley. Granoff Center for the Creative Arts, Brown University, Providence, RI, September – November, 2014.

Woodturning Roundtable Luncheon with Artists Binh Pho (Chicago, IL), Dr. Peter J. Snyder (Providence, RI) and Edward Krent (Sharon, MA).Fuller Craft Museum, Brockton, MA., 23 November, 2014.

 

EDUCATIONAL PREPARATION AS ARTIST

October, 2018 - TIG Welding, The Steelyard, Providence, RI

March – May, 2014 – Welding with Found Objects, The Steelyard, Providence, RI

March, 2014 – Blacksmithing of knives, The Steelyard, Providence, RI

December, 2011 - Three-day intensive class in blacksmithing, The Steelyard, Providence, RI

August, 2011 - Coursework in silver casting, The Steelyard, Providence, RI

July, 2010 - Master Class in Woodturning & Design, taught by New Zealand turner Graeme Priddle.  Craft Supplies USA, Provo, Utah

2003-2009 - Apprenticeship in woodturning under master turner, Kenneth Dubay (Columbia, CT).  Approximately 2-3 days per month, plus one weekend per month, for seven consecutive years.  Ken passed away, unexpectedly, in May of 2011.

1987-1991 - Active student member of the East Lansing Potter’s Guild (Michigan).  Approximately six (6) semester-long courses with ceramicist Mark Chatterley.

1985 - 1986 - Student member of the Ann Arbor Potter’s Guild (Michigan)

1983-1984 - Coursework towards (uncompleted) dual-major in Communication (art direction), School of Public Communication, Boston University

 

RELEVANT SKILLS

Proficiency with Adobe Photoshop (CS5) and Adobe Lightroom

Ceramics: hand construction & wheel, raku firing, salt glaze firing, pit firing

Woodturning & carving

Welding & Blacksmithing

Metal leaf and patination

Basic metal casting; metal clay construction

Excellent oral communication and writing skills

28+ years as an educator/professor

Exceptional time management, organizational, and leadership skills