I was born in Hoquiam, Washington but acquired many of my artistic sensibilities from the SF Bay Area. While at UC Berkeley I apprenticed with Peter Voulkos assisting him with 3 major outdoor sculptures. Abstract expressionism is one of my primary influences and I am enamored with the idea of "arriving at" rather than "aiming at." I want to surprise myself. My job as an artist is to make decisions--what to leave in and what to take out. I see art as a process of reduction--getting rid of the chaff and striving for the essence of the idea. In my career I have worked in many mediums--bronze, ceramics, drawing, painting, printmaking and wood. I start with a basic idea and then it's a matter of rescuing that idea from all the contrived directions it may take me. I currently am full-time in the studio in Sequim, WA. (mccollum@olympus.net)
