What was your inspiration for this piece?

I imagined what the beaches of Santa Cruz looked like centuries ago. Picture them with extensive reed beds, great flocks of birds, trees that stretched down to the ocean, and a lack of houses and humans. For this reason, I chose to work with a stone that was formed on the floor of the ocean and is flecked with marine fossils. I want to portray the symbolic journeys, arrivals, and departures, that have happened in Santa Cruz in the past.

What was the biggest challenge/success you encountered when creating this piece?

The work was begun in a quarry in Ireland and had to be transported and completed in my studio in Santa Cruz.

What was the process of designing and fabrications like?

The sculpture was site-specific and consisted of four shell forms, or “seed boats” as well as a large round fruit form. All five of these elements were arranged around an imposing stone arch. This gateway is aligned with the opening of the Monterey Bay that faces out towards the greater Pacific Ocean. Finally, on the posts of the gateway is a poem I wrote, inscribed in both English and Spanish.