For as long as I can remember, I have been continually inspired by the natural world around me. As a child, I was always searching the neighborhood for objects and shaping them into a proud display of what I can only guess is an innate connection between man and the earth. When, early in my university studies, I met Andy Goldsworthy, I felt an immediate connection to his work. It wasn't so much that I wanted to imitate exactly what he was doing. What it did for me was validate a way of working far from the modern world and technology that I had long resisted. In my own work, I still experiment with a wide range of media. I have yet to find a niche that I fit perfectly into and so I would like to focus on one particular work that I think resonates with Goldsworthy's body of work. This piece is a sculptural painting made from a found object wooden board, plant materials, spray paint, pastels, mud and glue. It is called a strange meadow lark, after a favorite song. At first glance, it may seem that Goldsworthy is making a profound social commentary about our estrangement from nature or...