The Byzantine style emerged in Christian communities of the eastern Mediterranean during the fifth and sixth centuries in art forms specifically and expressly created for religious devotions. Its originators deliberately developed a visual language of refined, courtly semi-abstraction meant to bring their audience into contact with an idealized spiritual world. Transcendence has always been its hallmark whether depicting people, plants, or animals, the physical presence is de-emphasized in favor of the metaphysical.

Creating so much of this kind of art for churches and individuals led me to create more of it for its own sake, because I feel that the spiritual strength of this art should be available everywhere and all the time.

I carved the “In the Midst of the Garden,” (see photo) image partly to celebrate the pure vibrancy and compelling power of a Byzantine style rendition of birds in flight. I also wanted to make a statement by arranging the flying birds in a double helix composition, thus I combining the ancient story of creation in Genesis and the modern story of creation in DNA.

The Byzantine Peacock and Byzantine Dove are simply my homage to one of the most expressive forms of art ever invented by human beings.