"ONWARD" Is a mother and daughter navigating the trails of life. While the daughter is bold and cheerful, the mother is somewhat wary, cautious and protective. They are made of steel and copper with bodies of Douglas Fir - a very strong wood used for the structure of buildings and beams. I like these girls a lot. To me, they represent today and tomorrow.
FLAG RUNNER Metal and Wood.Sometimes I plan and draw the piece in advance. Other times I just start to work and see what develops. That's how this one happened. Until working on this piece I never fully realized the visceral power of the stars and stripes. The head on this one can be adjusted to look down toward the ground or up for a more confident mood. It can also swivel to look directly in the eyes of a viewer, giving him a bold and defiant look. It stands about 42" high. $6,200
WESTERN SHIRT Ponderosa Pine 24" X 29" This piece is very thin - only about 3/8" thick. The surface of the wood is randomly irregular to make it resemble fabric. Some of the details are carved into the surface, then the entire surface is painted and stained to create the fine details. I used acrylic paints, stains and interference paints for the color and satin effect. This piece is nearly impossible to photograph! $850.00
SHOWER CURTAIN PEEK - Black Ceramic She is made of clay that I harvested from an excavation in Oak Park's Frank Lloyd Wright Historic district. The clay was fired to 1900 degrees and thrown into a bucket of sawdust. The flames and smoke frightened the neighbors and singed my eyebrows. The blackened ceramic figure is mounted on a hammered and rusticated copper plate which appears to be peeling off of the cherry wood backing.
BUBBLE BATH Welded Steel 27" X 29" This wall mounted piece hangs a bit more than 2" from the wall. When a bright light is trained on it, a shadow is cast on the wall that mimics the steel itself. Bubble Bath is intended to look like a flat drawing and the shadow serves as a reminder that it is 3-dimensional and has substance while in reality, it is mostly negative space. $2,800.00
SERENITY IN STRIDE 24" X 9" X 6" Old Growth Douglas Fir $2,200 This piece needs space around it to see it properly! Each angle of view seems to make sense but if you walk around it, the relationships of the forms change in increments. This effect is hard to describe and impossible to photograph but I really like how the piece gently commands a shift in attention when viewed from different vantage points.
I NEVER START A PIECE WITH THE INTENTION OF MAKING A SOUTHWESTERN SCULPTURE OR IMAGE. I HAVE HAD A LIFELONG FASCINATION WITH COWBOY AND WESTERN BOOTS - AND WHO DOESN'T LOVE BADGES AND STARS? I LIKE FORGING STEEL AND OFTEN PREFER ITS STRONG, UTILITARIAN LOOK AND FEEL OVER MORE "PRECIOUS" METALS LIKE BRONZE AND COPPER. I ALSO USE A GOOD BIT OF SAND WHICH IS OFTEN ASSOCIATED WITH ART FROM THE SOUTHWEST. OH, AND TURQUOISE! WHAT A GREAT COLOR. IF YOU ASK ME IF I DO SOUTHWESTERN ART, I WILL DENY IT. I DO OCCASIONALLY USE LEATHER IN MY WORK.
YIKES!
YIKES!