The title of the statue is "Secret". There are many ways to interpret what is happening. Is it her secret, or his? Or something they both keep. I am interested in what the woman is feeling, and what the man is feeling. I do not know absolutely what she is feeling, but I have several ideas.

In one interpretation, I can say that the man cares for the woman, but he is hesitant to love her too much. He is angry at what has happened to her. His love and this secret are in conflict. She is very close to him, but he is holding himself away. Try to think of other interpretations.

The statue is intended to evoke many different feelings. They are supposed to vary from time to time as your life changes. As your feeling change you should see different things in the relationship between the two. You should see different motives and feelings, different emotions in each of the two. I deliberately left it vague, to help your mind drift from feeling to feeling. The statue is a touch stone to invoke different scenes and interpretations.

I have left the statues very rough in parts. I like the texture of the stone. It has an interesting color when it is rough, and when it is smooth. I think that every person has scars like that - places in our hearts and minds where life has touched us.

The statue should look different from different directions. I left the direction of their gazes open, so there are at least two ways each person can be looking - depending on your viewing direction, and your feelings about the statue.

Close your eyes and touch the stone. I like the very rough texture. Looking with your eyes closed is one way you will get what I felt when I was carving. It is the literal feel of the statue.

It is OK to touch it. Over time the statue will pick up the oils from your hands and take on a patina of use that reflects how you, your family, and friends have interacted with the statue.

The statue is intended to last a lifetime. Part of the reason for keeping it massive is so there are no weak parts sticking out. It is supposed to be touched by children, and to survive the various things they do to things that interest them. So if you find magic marker or crayon on the statue, leave it. It will be a good memory.

If you want to dust it, a two inch paint brush is good to brush over the statue. Mostly it should take care of itself. If you absolutely must wash it, use warm soapy water and an old wash cloth. You can put it in a sink or bathtub. Just be sure to put a towel down first so you do not scratch your sink or tub. Rinse thoroughly. It will absorb some of the water and look darker for a while. After it dries it will go back to its usual color.

If you can put a mirror behind it, you will be able to see more than one side at once. The statue is very much intended to be seen from all directions.

The alternate name, an identifier, for the statue is E4. It is the fourth in a series of statues examining the relations between two or more people. The E stands for "evocative". I was trying to find a word that describes the process of taking many separate images and putting them into a single statue. I might have hundreds of specific images, of different people, different relations, in mind while carving. To capture all of those disparate feelings is difficult. I am trying to evoke certain memories, certain images, certain feelings.

One aspect of this relationship - no matter what might be going on, the two are tightly bound and cannot be separated. They are bound together for many lifetimes.