“This piece endeavors to honor the energy and the spirit of the American Bison, our national mammal. This messy-haired guy hangs on the wall, celebrating life and vitality. His essence is interwoven with thousands of joyful strands. He is our connection to prairie, to land, to the earth. My artwork focuses on materials and subjects from the natural world, insisting that humans are intimately and inextricably connected to each other and our natural surroundings. My earliest lifetime memory is from peering through camper louvers at Custer State Park’s bison herd. Making sculptures of bison reconnects me with the amazement of that moment.”