Though my objects contain strong visual references, I am more interested in the implied tactile ones; the things that stir in me a compulsion to touch.  Beyond other external inspiration lies this basic, primal impulse. I recognize – and act upon – a profound desire to push, poke, squeeze, stroke, caress, and pinch. I intend for my pieces to invoke a similar sort of temptation. Obvious sexual references, along with an extravagant, fetish-like attention to surface, can arouse a yearning to touch as powerful as the act itself. In this way a parallel can be drawn with pornography -- my first encounter with Playboy, for example, as an 8-year-old. My emotional response, pure and utter fascination, depended upon a compelling desire to experience flesh. When one views such imagery, I would argue that one is, at the very least, thinking about touching — about how it would feel. I want my work to elicit a similar response: