Brad Blakely draws, sculpts, and carves. The materials he works with seem composed more of magic than molecules and embrace him as vibrantly as the air, the sunlight, and the vaulting sky above his home just south of Las Vegas.

"Each of these materials has a Siren's song all its own," he explains, "and I feel strongly drawn to explore the power and blessing of what each of them is willing to offer."

All gifted artists have bouts of ambivalence from time to time with the focus and motivation of their work but Brad is in a period of calm intensity with his art. At peace with the muses that impel him, Brad has a sense of why that is...

"All the materials---they're like comrades in arms to whom I have to measure up in our mutual pursuit of beauty. I feel my most recent pieces in jade do, indeed, meet that test."