A specimen is an individual animal collected by a scientist to represent that animal's species. All too often these days, specimens are all that remain to remind us of creatures that no longer walk, crawl, or fly the earth. In dusty drawers of museums lie the husks of birds, the brittle bones of animals, skewered insects--vain attempts by scientists to preserve something of the natural world.

    While these specimens may be useful to scientists, who measure, quantify, and dissect, these relics can make us forget that these creatures are or ever were anything but artifacts. When we see a mounted specimen we get no sense that it was once alive--eating, breeding, fighting.

    The "Specimens" in this show are creatures that are extinct, were thought to be extinct, or likely to become extinct soon. Rather than try to represent the whole species, each of my specimens is unique to itself. Each is an individual with its own unique character and characteristics. In this way, I remind myself that each animal lost is lost forever. And forever is a very long time indeed. Too long to go without pink rhinoceroses, polka dotted dodos, and fish that rubbed elbows with the dinosaurs.