TS'UNG TUBE SCULPTURE SERIES
Stone sculptures inspired by an ancient Chinese jade ritual object called "ts'ung tube" or "cong" or "zong", symbol of unity of heaven and earth. I was grappling with the challenge of creating an installation piece for an atrium sculpture when I saw photos of several "ts'ung tubes" or "cong". This motif immediately brought together the forms I was working with and resolved the aesthetic dilema. The ts'ung tube is a jade ritual object from ancient, Neolithic China, an early yin/yang form, representing the unity of heaven and earth through the squares and the circle. It sometimes includes dragon eyes that look to the four cardinal directions of the compass. The magic square of alchemy may also be superimposed over the plan of the cong.

My sculptures that are inspired by this motif play freely with the concept and utilize various different materials, but primarily stone. While many of these works are small to medium in scale, I have lately been making them several meters high in granite and basalt-lava.