Windrush II, mahogany and redwood, 11Õ x 122Õ x 120Õ

Whale bones. Clay marbles. Fish boxes. These relics and reflections of Cape Cod's history have been transformed by artist Paul Bowen into a unique language of forms. Bowen, a consummate collector, has amassed a large collection of beach finds and has a studio full of rescued materials: driftwood, old barn doors, wooden drums--and a cherished stockpile of beautifully textured paper taken from old journals.

Bowen, a native of Wales, first came to Cape Cod in 1977 when he received a fellowship at the Fine Arts Work Center in Provincetown. The first year extended to a second and, eventually, he settled on the Cape. Provincetown has been his home for over 30 years, and despite a recent move to Vermont, Bowen continues to cultivate his strong ties to the Cape. He is active with the artSTRAND Gallery and the Fine Arts Work Center in Provincetown, where he will be teaching a course this summer. This spring, Bowen taught a workshop at the Cape Cod Museum of Art where his piece, Windrush II, is on permanent display.

Bowen's sculptures vary in scale, from small hand-held pieces to human-size or larger. His drawings are a related but distinct body of work, characterized by gestural and intuitive strokes in a neutral palette. However, with all of Bowen's intriguing art, there are certain shared attributes. He always uses recycled natural materials and his work is always done by hand. Certain recurring patterns emerge in much of his work: curves, spheres, platforms, and discs are familiar elements.

Bowen describes his drawing process as intuitive. "I make a mark on a piece of paper; make a circle, and see what happens," he says. "Make a bunch of lines. Stain it. Dip it in water. Then, I throw it in the sink, and take a scrub brush to it. If the paper is resilient, it's just a matter of working it until something comes up that sticks there." Nothing seems overly planned or manipulated. For his sculptural work, Bowen seldom does preparatory drawings. Each piece evolves organically. Looking at one of Bowen's sculptures on a wall, softly touched with diffused light, it is as if the materials simply got together and presented themselves to the world--as if they had been buried under the sand out on the flats and emerged after a particularly harsh winter. The subtle histories that exist in the watermarks, streaks of tar, and old nail holes become focal points.

Like his sculptures, Bowen's mind is a rich accumulation of snapshots, narratives, and passing time. While reflecting on his artistic method, Bowen launches into tales of salvaged treasures and forgotten histories of early Provincetown. Sitting in the kitchen of his 200-year-old farmhouse, poring over boxes of "beach finds," looking at sculptures on the walls and outside the windows, it is hard not to connect the dots. A rounded whale's tooth in a cabinet echoes the dramatic curves of his sculptures. The shadows of tree trunks on the snow outside mimic the lines in his recent drawings. The aged wood of the house matches that of some of the scraps he recently acquired from an old barn.

"I love materials that had a life of some other sort," says Bowen. It is no surprise that Bowen's work is so closely associated with Cape Cod, a natural place constantly enriched and changed by the passage of time.

Paul Bowen is represented by artSTRAND in Provincetown, MA. His work is in the permanent collections of the DeCordova Museum & Sculpture Park, Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum, Walker Art Center, Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, Provincetown Art Museum, Fogg Art Museum, and others. His web site is www.paulbowen.com.

Amanda Fiedler lives in Sandwich, MA. She is a gallery curator, coach, and visual arts teacher, at Noble and Greenough School in Dedham, MA.