Much of the art that I make contains some element of fantasy. There's a sense of otherworldliness in the images that I'm most drawn to - whether from dreams, fairytales, myths, or the understanding that the most mundane object or situation flares with presence when it becomes the subject of a work of art. Every color, every line, every sound, has the potential to begin a story of wonder, or form a significant episode of one already in progress. I love connecting the imaginary wonders of these stories to the tactile materials, and concepts of paintings, sculptures, music and dance. I view my experiences of art-making with amazement, generally, and sensual pleasure whenever possible. It pleases me when the work gives those experiences autonomy, and the stories evoked in other imaginations become intertwined with my own.

Perhaps that is why I like to sell my work directly to the collector, rather than through an agent or gallery. I'm enriched not only by the exchange of work for money, but also by the stories, or clues to stories, evoked by the conversation over the desire to make and to have a desirable object, or the experience that such an object promises. I'm a collector too! I make the objects because I want them badly enough to perform their making, and I want the stories they evoke to expand, change and evolve in interesting ways, so that I always have material to work with. When a story comes back to me of something I've made that has become meaningful enough to become a significant part of someone's personal story, it always illuminates my own quest for a path surrounded by beauty and adventure. I make art for myself, first, then for family and friends, believing that those intersections of shared imagination, the tangible and the suggestions of the intangible, are the best guides to creating art.

Timeless Art by Zach Conkle from mountainworkshops.org on Vimeo.