T o m W a c h s

What Guides Me

I enjoy using an implement as an extension of my hands, my eyes, my head and heart. Tools and materials sometimes initiate and determine my process of creating, and at other times, the process is pushed forward through a connection to an image or idea, an object, place, or phrase. Inevitably these varied sparks shift back and forth, with conversations among all of them, animating the journey.

What is the job at hand? While creating an image or object, I strive to focus with the same intention and intensity as when regarding a bird that may fly away from the branch at any moment. As I work, I know my visual focus can take flight in an instant, replaced by an emotion or a thought. I try to stay attuned to this continual interchange and my desire is that each piece reverberate with the tangible and intangible that has informed its creation.