Statement
 
My love for sculpture was born of my power to visualize everything in three dimensions. Whenever I read or hear a story, for example, I imagine it not as a movie on a screen, but as an event unfolding in space around me.  It was this aptitude, in fact, that was responsible for my success in development. While my partner had a quick mind for numbers, I was the one who could see the buildings volumetrically, from every angle, even without a model. He therefore dealt with the financial side of the business, while I handled the design features as well as the placement and integration of the electric wires, vents, ducts, and pipes into the architectural shell. I later discovered that my sensitivity to volume and space came from being dyslexic; thus what some would perceive as a handicap turned out in my case to be a special gift.
 
As a sculptor, I work primarily in clay, molding the figures with my hands before casting them in plaster or occasionally wax to bronze. I love the plasticity of clay, the freedom of shaping and reshaping it at will. I thus find greater satisfaction in the additive than the subtractive process, in granting form to a malleable substance rather than carving away at a hard one. Once the cast is done, I like enhancing the surface by adding color to the texture.
 
As a practicing Hasid, I am under obligation to leave the work unfinished. I never know in advance what will be left undone. Any forethought in this respect would make the omitted element deliberate and thus essential to the completion of the design, thereby undermining the purpose of the rabbinical provision.  Yet though the missing feature may cause me some frustration, it allows the viewer to complete the image in his or her mind and thus participate in the creative process.
 
Thus far, I have draw most of my subjects from the Scriptures, which, however, offer virtually no description of their physical features. I approach the problem in two ways. First, I try to visualize the personality of the characters as expressed in their actions, words, and behavior. I read the relevant passages in the Bible many times over, at different times of day and in different moods. I try to imagine myself in their skin, feel their emotions and disposition, and see how these affect my facial expressions and gestures. Second, I look through photos of Middle Eastern individuals and try to find what I feel are corresponding types. It is here that my degree in psychology comes into play as it allows me to delve deeper into the psyche of the characters and tease out not only a physical but also psychological type.
 
Although I expect to continue in this vein in the future, I hope to branch out to other subjects, preferably ones of a philosophical or existential cast. I have already made one work—I was there tomorrow and the question remains—inspired by my interest in technology and time travel. i also plan to broaden my repertoie to female biblical characters, which i have yet to attempt, and hope to begin with Esther.
 
When developing and executing a sculpture, I always bear in mind my community. My goal is to offer its members another facet of the biblical heroes and characters with which they are so familiar—one that is not conveyed by words. Sculpture is its own language, more limited than verbal communication, yet capable of expressing certain things that words cannot.  I hope that my works can grant dimension to these Biblical figures, make them as vivid to my fellow Hasidim as they are in my head. At the same time, I would like my sculptures to create a bridge to secular Jews or those of communities other than my own by reminding them all of our common heritage.