I am an engineer by training, a tinker by trade, and a sculptor by desire.
Most of my working life has focused on an
involvement with structure (electronic, mechanical, programmatic) and
creative problem solving for utility. Although some would put the
technical and artistic worlds at opposite ends of the spectrum, I have
found that they are not really that far apart. Utility is a fundamental
expression of human need. Both the engineer and the artist create,
experiment, and finally craft their work into a reality.
As a sculptor, I choose to use that
understanding and those skills solely for expression. My work is
abstract and often representational. I look at the geometries of life
to create engineered reflections of nature. I strive for the elegant
solution: a succinctness of beauty in form, character, or statement - a
melding of technical and artistic sensibilities. I push, pull, and
blend shapes into forms relying heavily on defining lines, texture, and
the qualities of the final materials that I choose to use (cast and
welded metals, wood, and acrylic). The computer is central to much of
this work - not as a medium, but as a tool in its ideation,
development, and final realization (from object modeling to computer
controlled machine tools). In all, my romantic and idealistic
tendencies have sway.
Ideas for my sculptures come from sudden and
often odd connections or standing back from reality and looking at it
through differently colored - or distorted - glasses trying to fit
seemingly disparate parts into a cohesive whole. Sometimes I design;
other times, I go with the flow. It may involve doodling on paper,
drawing on the computer, or doing some hand modeling (digital sculpture
base 10).
My sources of inspiration are broad: my family,
the forms of Noguchi, the line of Wright, the emotion of Michelangelo,
the imagination of da Vinci (the preeminent artist/engineer), the
vibrance of Blake, Fuller, Archimboldo, Einstein, Nevelson, Beasley,
Disney, Inuit and Tlinglit sculpture and design, cubism, mannerism,
deco, sunsets, autumn, humor, the human condition, geometries,
connections, nature…
Wondering, I create. Seeing, I think. Understanding, I wonder.
.