BIOGRAPHY

My exposure to fine art began early in life. My father, Phillip Levine, is a well-known and respected Pacific Northwest figurative bronze sculptor and he involved me in his work beginning at an early age. By the time I was thirteen, I had built my first foundry and have assisted him throughout his career. My father’s time and space were always available and this is where I began to learn to use tools and to conceive in three dimensions. Out home was filled with art and artists and I had the great fortune to grow up in a visually and intellectually rich environment. My mother Rachael, an educator, bestowed to me her great love of the natural world and its mysteries.

I attended the University of Washington with a dual interest in art and science. I perceived a close relationship between the two disciplines and continue to explore this connection in my work to this day. Although I graduated from Colorado State University with a BFA and a concentration in ceramics, it was a circuitous path that led me though sculpture, ceramics and glass before I was introduced to fine furniture making while teaching art and design at a local college. Because of a wide exposure to varied media I have been able to integrate a broader range of materials and processes into my work. Although I don’t have a strict formal education in furniture and furniture making, I feel that my approach to this discipline began outside convention and has thereby allowed for greater and freer exploration.

I live amidst nature on Bainbridge Island, Washington. The natural world has always been the source of inspiration for my work. The wonder of what is has simply given rise to a life and an opportunity to explore ideas and forms as a natural part of being human.

EXPERIENCE

• Present
• Studio Furniture Maker, Bainbridge Island, WA
• 1997-1998
• Studio Furniture Maker, Seattle, WA
• Studio furniture maker and Assistant to Ross Day, studio furniture maker, Seattle, WA.
• 1995-1997
• Studio Sculptor and Furniture Maker, Seattle, WA
• Consulted and assisted in the fabrication of large public commissions for NW sculptors Phillip Levine, Ray Jensen, and Tom Jay.
• 1992-1995
• Instructor in Art Department, Bellevue, WA
• Bellevue Community College Staff taught classes including: 3-Dimensional Design, Furniture Design and Construction, and Introduction to Hand and Power Tools.

• 1991
• Ceramics Consultant, Sitra Pottery, Zimbabwe, Africa
• Worked as a technical consultant and builder of waste-oil fired kilns and other related equipment. Glaze and clay body development and research.
• 1983-1990
• Zoo Exhibit Maker for Jolly Miller Landscape Construction Co., Seattle, WA
• Worked as a bidder, planner, designer, artistic consultant, crew supervisor, and fabricator of gunite (air-placed concrete) pools and artificial rockery for zoo exhibits in Washington and Oregon.
• 1977
• Glassblower, Fort Worden, Port Townsend, WA
• Apprenticed to glassblower in residence and helped in the building of experimental electric glass ovens.
• EDUCATION
• Fine Furniture Making, 1995
• Seattle Central Community College, Seattle, WA
• Bachelor of Fine Arts 1985 (Concentration in Ceramics)
• Colorado State University, Ft. Collins, CO