My Firefly Sculptural Firebowl™ is photographed and mention in this article about the renovation of a historic home in Greenville, South Carolina. Burnette, Stephanie. “Past Lives.” Greenville Journal, 20 Sept. 2017.
I’m so pleased to have my 2004 mosaic, La Siren II, featured in this beautiful book from the American Museum of Natural History! The museum also commissioned me to build a recreation of La Siren to accompany the traveling exhibit now on tour. This is a book I would buy and enjoy regardless […]
La Siren III, 2017Vitreous glass, bottle caps, stone, copper, 15.65 carat emerald, glass eyes, plywood and Hardiebacker substrate60″ H x 36″ W x 1.5″ DCommissioned by the American Museum of Natural History La Siren III was commissioned by the American Museum of Natural History for the traveling exhibition Mythic Creatures: Dragons, Unicorns & Mermaids. I’m […]
A visit to the scrap yard inspired sculptor Rachael Que Vargas to create her iconic firebowls. “I saw them cutting a propane tank,” she recalls, “they cut the end off and I saw this perfect bowl and immediately thought of cutting flames into it.” That was in 2005. Since then, the Hudson-based artist has […]
My mosaic of the Vévé for Erzuli was used for the cover design of Envisioning Black Feminist Voodoo Aesthetics by Kameelah L. Martin. Martin, Kameelah L. Envisioning Black Feminist Voodoo Aesthetics: African Spirituality in American Cinema. N.p.: Lexington, 2016. Print.
Magen David mosaic for The New Reform Congregation Kadima, 2018Sicis and vitreous glass tile, copper, GatorFoam and plywood substrate.12″ H x 12″ W x 1.5″ D This small mosaic will be used to create a sacred space when the Congregation Kadima is meets in spaces other than their own temple. The client instruction were as […]
Brian Clark and I became friends shortly after he first launched Copyblogger as a one-person blog in 2006. Both of us were very early adapters to marketing online and we were all learning from each other as we tried new ideas. We got to meet in person finally at SXSWi and I always looked forward […]
This lantern is a commissioned portrait of Fudo Myoo (also known as Acala). Fudo is one of the Five Bright Kings, powerful deities in Japanese Buddhism and folk religion.
This lantern was inspired more by the materials at hand than by any specific historic style of mask.
This lantern has such expressive character! The ears and nose are made from the handles used to lift heavy propane tanks by crane or chain hoist. The eyes, of course, are gears with a bit of the original red paint left on.
To celebrate the 100th anniversary of Newport Winter Carnival, Christopher Marcotte commissioned a Great Bowl O’ Fire 30 inch Sculptural Firebowl™ to be installed in the town’s Little Common on a tall torch base.
This lantern is based on an African mask design and hand cut from a recycled steel oxygen tank.
This lantern is my freehand drawing impression of a Spanish fighting bull. From his expression, you can see that the matador is in trouble!
This lantern is loosely based on Walu and Kanaga masks carved in wood by the Dogn people of Mali.
Ganesha is one of the best-known and most widely worshiped deities in the Hindu pantheon. Ganesha is widely revered as the Remover of Obstacles and as the Lord of Beginnings.
This lantern is a reworking of a Chinese mask design I previously used in my Face of Spades series. The crown is made from a transmission housing. This lantern can be used on a table or pedestal and includes a battery powered LED light.
This lantern is a reworking of an African mask design I previously used in my Face of Spades series. Although the face is inspired by an African piece, the ears were inspired by the oversize earlobes commonly seen on sculptures of the Buddha.
This lantern is a reworking of an Northwest Coast Native American mask design I previously used in my Face of Spades series.
This lantern is a reworking of an African mask design I previously used in my Face of Spades series. This lantern can be used on a table or pedestal and includes a battery powered LED light.
For most of us, gathering around the fire is a seasonal activity. In summer and fall a fire is a favorite way to spend an afternoon or evening. In spring, if it’s not too muddy or wet, gathering around the fire is a pleasant return to the outdoors. In winter, well— most of us prefer to be warm indoors. But as a major part of your outdoor décor, the right fire feature can be enjoyed year-round.
Ghede Libation Bottle, 1997Ceramic, Leather, Beads & Mixed12″ x 8″ x 8″Collection: Marilyn Houlberg This was the first piece of art I ever sold. This libation bottle was used by by Haitian houngan, Saveur St. Cyr during ritual trance while visiting Chicago. He chose it from among the thirty-odd traditional bottles on Marilyn’s Ghede altar. […]
Introduction “Nowhere is Kongo Angola influence on the new world more pronounced, more profound, than in black traditional cemeteries throughout the south of the united states. The nature of the objects that decorate the graves there, as well as in places as diverse as Haiti and Guadalupe in the West Indies, reveals a strong continuity. […]
Mask created for Redmoon Theater’s Winter Pageant, 2000
Steel, Wood, Wool
14″ x 12″ x 32″
Collection: The Artist
Larson, Jamie. “Hudson Sculptor John T. Unger Creates Great Bowls Of Fire.” Rural Intelligence, 14 Dec. 2015.
As the whole Five-0 team gathers at Rumfire towards the episodes end, you can see one of the Great Bowls O’ Fire in the background of several shots. “Ka Papahana Holo Pono.” Hawaii Five-0, season 6, episode 4, CBS, 16 Oct. 2015.
Crocodile Mask, 1999Wood & Mixed46.5″ x 12.25″ x 9.5″Collection: The Artist This is one of my favorite found object pieces. The face and jaws are all made from a cut and resassembled cigar rolling tray. The vertical planes of the face are the tops of salvaged window frames.
A sculptural steel steel light fixture in the visage of Fudu Myoo the Wisdom King.
These three panels are each 50 x 50 inches and are installed on the wall of a roof-top garden in Pompano Beach, FL. The client had seen several of my other scrap fence designs and wanted something similar for her space. This was the first commissioned project I did in the Hudson, NY studio.
“Material.” AHA! A House For Arts. PBS. WMHT, Troy, NY, 9 Sept. 2015. Television.
MacIntosh Gate, 2004Steel48″ x 36″ x 2″Private Collection This is one of my all-time favorite improvisational fences. I found the antique gridwork in a local scrap yard and knew immediately what I wanted to do with it. Inspired by the designs of Charles Rennie MacIntosh, the addition of a frame and two small circular elements […]
Abstract Art Nouveau Garden Screen, 2004Steel, copper68.5″ x 38.5″ x 3″Private Collection Every now and then a piece surprises you, and that can be the best feeling in the world. This garden screen is one of those… Most of the time, I set out to achieve an effect or feeling and I know from the […]
Bittersweet Vine Steel and Copper Trellis, 2004Steel, Copper36″ x 20″ x 1″Private Collection This trellis was just an improvisation on a vine motif, but the peened copper berries remind me of Celastrus scandens, commonly called American bittersweet. Wild bittersweet was common where I grew up and when it bloomed, we would make wreathes of the […]
Discovery Playhouse commissioned this fence for their Children’s Museum in Cape Girardeau, MO. The faces in the fence are glass mosaic, which were complete as a project with a local arts group.
De Wal, Aletta, M.Ed. My Real Job Is Being an Artist: How to Produce a Body of Signature Art and Build the Foundation of an Art Business. Los Altos, CA: Artist Career Training, 2015. Print.
The Compass Rose features four layers of relief sculpture— The bowl itself, two layers of cut steel star designs, and hand made “clavos” (decorative bolts). The compass letters are cut out of the bowl so ire can show through them and so they will also project onto the ground.
Old Glory made the front page of the Columbia Paper and gets a nice boxed feature on page 16. Mayer, Debby. “Take 20,000 Bottle Caps….” Columbia Paper 27 Aug. 2015, Vol 07, No. 34 ed.: 1+. Print.
Blauweiss, Stephen. “ArtScene TV Episode 9.” Chronogram Magazine, 1 Sept. 2015. Blauweiss, Stephen. “ArtScene TV Episode 9.” Upstater, 2 Sept. 2015.
Stigmata, 1998Wood, Wax, Thorns7″ x 4.5″ x. 5″Collection: The Lamprey Archives This was a piece made for The Ever So Secret Order of the Lamprey, based on the word “Stigmata.” The Ever So Secret Order of the Lamprey was a group of Chicago artists and non-artists who met weekly, bringing some creative expression based on a […]
Study for Reliquary Wall, 1999Wood, Wax, Bone7″ x 4.5″ x 1.25″Available This was an initial study for a series in which I intended to cast various objects into large slabs of wax to be suspended from chains as space dividers, or screens.
Desire, 1998Wood, Glass, Wire & Mixed7″ x 4.5″ x 1.25″Collection: The Lamprey Archives This was a piece made for The Ever So Secret Order of the Lamprey, based on the word “Desire.” The box is an antique box for microscope slides, the wood is the scar left from a cut branch, found as driftwood on a […]
Small Hand, 1995Wood, Steel, Bone & Mixed7″ x 4.5″ x 1″Private Collection A charred antique box for microscope slides holds the bones of an animal paw nailed to an image cut from an old book. A cloud of rusty steel.
Mojo Set, 1998Wood, Steel, Bone, Velvet & Mixed3″ x 9″ x 5″Private Collection The six small figures in this set bear a slight resemblance to the work of the anonymous artist known as the Philadelphia Wireman. Each small talisman is made from small bits of found steel that were suggestive of a figure. […]
Sextablos, 1999Acrylic paint and Xerox transfer onto steel8″ x 10″ x .01″Private Collection These four Xerox transfers were created for the exhibit Sextablos, curated by Michael Hernandez de Luna. “The exhibition featured the work of 60 contributing artists who were asked to adapt the Mexican retablo (small paintings on metal) typically reserved for personal expressions […]
Death & Transfiguration, 1996Wood, Steel, Glass & Mixed29″ x 16″ x 1.5″Private Collection Acrylic and spray paint on steel, inset into an aged and burned wooden panel from a door. The frame of broken glass is a visual reference to the nails of nkisi sculptures. The shattered glass also functions as containment for spirits.
Marriage Door, 1997Wood, Paper & Mixed8″ x 7″ x 1.5″Private Collection
Marriage Arch, 1997Wood, Paper & Mixed8″ x 7″ x 1.5″Private Collection
Detroit Icon, 1998 Wood, Photos, Glass, steel mesh & Mixed 7.5″ x 6.5″ x 1″ Private Collection Both the photo of Jesus and the one of a damaged brake drum were found in the garbage at a Kinkos in Ann Arbor, MI. Combined under glass and steel mesh, they produce a hybrid holy image for […]
Torso Fetish, 1996Wood, Steel, Bone, horse hair & Mixed10.5″ x 4.25″ x 1.5″Private Collection
Figure with Flames & Moon, 1996 Wood, Glass, Paper, Acrylic 6.25″ x 8.25″ x. 5″ Private Collection The figure and moon are carved out of the painted glass in reverse. The flames and the scythe-like shape in the left corner are paper on the front of the glass. Mounted with nails onto scorched wood.
Snakes Came In & Out, 1997 Wood, Steel & Mixed 11.5″ x 8.25″ x 1.25″ Private Collection This piece began as an accident— I was buying the postcard and the plastic snake and liked the way they juxtaposed in my hand. I built the rest of the work around that happy accident. The steel with […]
All Guitars Go To Heaven, 1997Wood, Steel & Mixed64″ x 34″ x 6″Private Collection This piece began as as part of an assemblage/mixed media mural project, approximately 50′ x 20′ that I worked on with Juan Angel Chavez & Chris Silva. It was never finished and was abandoned when I left Michigan for New York. […]
Medicine Tree, 1999Wood, Glass, Cloth, clay & Mixed12.5″ x 17″ x 14″Private Collection Essentially an abstract, Medicine Tree pays visual and metaphoric homage to Kongo and Hoodoo traditions. The medicine jars are covered in cloth bags treated with red clay. The eye on the larger bottle is a piece of mirror set into an eye-shaped […]
Jubilee Crucifix, 1998Wood, Steel & Mixed27.25″ x 26″ x 4.5″Available The wooden panel is a section of a door, burned and touch with gold spray paint. The body of the crucifix is carved and blackened wood. Found scrap steel completes the torso. The wings are from a farm implement. The face is the latch of […]
Papa Ghede Bell garçon, 2000 Wood, Steel, Paint & Mixed 18″ x 32″ x 2.25″ Available The song that gives this piece it’s name translates: Papa Ghede, he’s a pretty good guy Papa Ghede, he’s a pretty good guy He’s dressed all in black Because he’s going to the palace The song tells the story […]
Crossed, 1999Wood, Photograph, Paper & Mixed21″ x 18.25″ x 3.5″Available Crossed draws from various Hoodoo folk magics. The pods at the top are locust beans, alluding to biblical plagues. The poster that forms the top element of the collage was used as found. the hanging phrase seems more ominous than any finished sentence would be.
Two Eyed Jack of Bones, 1997Wood, Steel, Bone & Mixed17″ x 10.5″ x 1.75″Available The jawbones reference Samson, hunting and strength. Rulers, of course, measure. The spears are juxtaposed against the sharp steel painted with danger stripes. The figures in the collage appear in color and black and white, are opposites, are reversed and mirrored. […]
Reliquary, 1999Wood, Wax, Bone & Mixed19.5″ x 36″ x 3.5″Private Collection reliquary was a study for a series in which I intended to cast various objects into large slabs of wax to be suspended from chains as space dividers, or screens. The charred board that makes up the back panel was salvaged from a church […]
Calavera, 1999Wood, Steel, Paint56.5″ x 46″ x 2″Available Acrylic paint and oil stick on reclaimed steel. The steel panel on which this piece is painted was signage salvaged from Maxwell Street in Chicago, where B. B. King played the first electric blues.
Born Under the Thirteenth Sign, 1999Wood, Steel, Paint56.5″ x 46″ x 2″ 1999Available A pregnant beast squats to give birth. Acrylic paint and oil stick on reclaimed steel. The steel panel on which this piece is painted was signage salvaged from Maxwell Street in Chicago, where B. B. King played the first electric blues.
Grave guardian, 1997Wood, Bone, Steel & Mixed8″ x 5″ x 4.5″Private Collection A carved figure in cedar wearing a steel mask with horns guards an open crypt.
Iron Fetish No. 4, 1997Steel, Bone, Wood & Mixed7″ x 3.25″ x 3″Private Collection The body of the figure is an old glass cutter, rusted almost beyond recognition. The notches used for snapping glass give the figure a nice profile.
Snakedance on Two feet, 1997Wood, Bone, Steel36″ x 21.75″ x 11.75″Private Collection I found this root somewhere on the California coast while on a long road trip. The iron bands were salvaged from the strapping on a steamer trunk. The tail is steel rod.
Root doll, 1997Wood, Twine, Steel & Mixed12″ x 10″ x 3″Private Collection The Root Doll series was inspired by New Orleans hoodoo dolls. This was the first one, which I put together in a friend’s back yard, while traveling.
Root Doll No. 3, 1999Wood, Bone & Mixed12″ x 6″ x 6″Private Collection The Root Doll series was inspired by New Orleans hoodoo dolls.
Cat figure, 1995Wood, Steel, Bone & Mixed25.25″ x 4″ x 5.75″Available
Construction, 1998Wood, Iron & Mixed10″ x 3.5″ x 3″Available This piece pays homage to Russian Constructivism in it’s use of abstract forms and machine parts. the figure suggests a worker about to spring into action. The steel making up the head and torso is a doorknob and its housing. The legs are an unidentified machine […]
He’s Got the Book of Circles, 1997Wood, Copper, Steel, Bone22″ x 5.75″ x 8.25″Available
Victory, 1998Bottle, Napalm, Paper & Mixed16″ x 3″ x 3″Collection: Lamprey Archives The heart and skull are cut from the Mexican Loteria deck. The bottle is wrapped in paper, steel mesh and twine. A diamond of mirror is held by the twine. The bottle is filled with homemade napalm in honor of Robert Duval’s line […]
Bizango Bottle, 1998Glass, Clay, Bone & Mixed13″ x 4″ x 5″Available An early interpretation of Haitian libation bottles. The bottle is wrapped in paper covered with gris gris dirt. The spiked steel panel is part of an old steamer trunk. Clay studs ring the top of the bottle. Unidentified animal skull.
He Eats Bad Dreams, 1997Wood, Steel & Mixed14.5″ x 11.5″ x 3″Private Collection The body of this figure is made from a weathered post from a bed frame. His arms are bones. His chest is open so that he can take bad dreams directly into his heart and chew them up with the jawbones. His […]
Statuette for Legba, 1996Wood, Steel & Mixed13.75″ x 4″ x 3.25″Collection: The Artist The body of this figure was found washed up on Orcas Island, north of Seattle. The colors are Legba’s colors, and he can also be identified by the walking stick and the hook arm with which he would carry his macoute, […]
Hermaphroditic Knife Bochio, 1997Wood, Steel, Beads & Mixed14.5″ x 3.25″ x 3.25″Collection: The Artist This figure is based on Fon Bochio sculptures. An emphasis on knotting and tying is characteristic of Bochio sculptures and suggests strength. Force and resistance are also characteristic. The figure was carved in a friends back yard while traveling… the […]
Bochio, 2000
Bone, Steel, Mirror & Mixed
10.5″ x 3.25″ x 3.25″
Collection: The Artist
At Peace With His Prayer, 1999Wood, Steel, Bone & Mixed14″ x 3.5″ x 3.5″Collection: The Artist The body and head of this sculpture are made from the found object of a couch leg— the fabric was used as found. The base is a steel wheel. The mummified animal hands are nailed on in the condition […]
Spicy, 1998Wood, Peppers, Copper & Mixed22″ x 7″ x 4.5″Collection: The Lamprey Archives This was a piece made for The Ever So Secret Order of the Lamprey, based on the word “Spicy.” The Ever So Secret Order of the Lamprey was a group of Chicago artists and non-artists who met weekly, bringing some creative expression […]
Crib Death, 2001Wood, Steel, Bone & Mixed30″ x 7″ x 5″Available The torso is from an old player piano mechanism. The head is an air filter, probably from a lawnmower. The legs were the uprights of a set of andirons. The arms are jawbones from a deer.
Heartbreak Hotel, 1998Wood, Stones, Steel & Mixed12″ x 5″ x 4″Location Unknown Six snared hearts occupy a yellow hotel. The petrified hearts are stones found in a highway median in Pittsburgh. The nails and mesh reference minkisi figures.
A Heart for Little Root, 1999Wood, Tin, Stone & Mixed18.5″ x 11.75″ x 8″Private Collection This was a Valentine’s Day gift made from a box, pressed tin ceiling, a root and a petrified heart stone from Pittsburgh, PA.
Cock Shrine, 1999Wood, Steel, Glass & Mixed35″ x 39″ x 9″Collection: Marilyn Houlberg My favorite element in this altar is an antique jar of farm medicine labeled “Pik’r.” It claims to be a “distasteful blood-like preparation to aid in discouraging cannibalism in poultry.” Other elements include a postcard of a man menacing a fighting cock, […]
Dark Angel of Hearts, 1998Wood, Steel25″ x 12″ x 4″Private Collection The tower is a weathered bed post. The figure is carved from scorched wood, with cut steel wings and a pulley for the head and neck. The box holds a heart shaped wind chime with bells.
Bizango Altar, 2000
Wood, Steel, Bone, Wax & Mixed
Private Collection
Fire Eating Bird’s Head16.25″ x 16.75″ x 4.75″ 1998Wood, Steel & Mixed This was originally intended to be part of a larger piece based on Senufo bird sculptures. I liked it so much as an abstract form that I decided to let it stand alone, as is.
Nkisi Torso, 2001Cardboard, Nails, tape & Mixed41″ x 27″ x 12″Private Collection My original plan was to cast the torso in concrete and dye it with feric acid to resemble a solid cast iron nkisi. The patina on the cardboard was so nice though that I left it as is.
Zozo Throne, 2000Wood, clay, Bone & Mixed47″ x 30″ x 30″Collection: The Artist This piece was made for 3 1/2 Months of Sundays at the Whale, a show of work by The Ever So Secret Order of the Lamprey at the Hyde Park Art Center, Hyde Park, IL. The idea for this piece came when I […]
Spill My Guts, 2001
cardboard, wood, glass & Mixed
85″ x 27″ x 30″
Destroyed
Emptiness, 2001Wood, Steel, Glass, & Mixed64″ x 40″ x 30″Private Collection Part of a series of large junk sculptures that I planned to guerrilla install in Chicago. The blank stare of the mirror in Emptiness is a reminder that we all see ourselves in everything upon which we turn our gaze. The window invites the […]
Sentry, 2001Wood, Iron, & Mixed128″ x 32″ x 8″Private Collection Part of a series of large junk sculptures that I planned to guerrilla install in Chicago. This piece shows an increasing interest in abstract line work. The charred rifle was the victim of an arsonist who attempted to drive out my favorite junkyard. The head […]
Daily Confection just posted a really fun phone interview I did with Gary Connolly. We discussed a broad set of topics including art, business, marketing, the ways that blogging and the web in general have impacted my work as an artist and 30 foot fire-breathing dragon boats…. After I gave it a listen, I realized that I haven’t ever posted photos of the dragon boat here on the blog, so I figured it was time… This was a fun project I did with my friend Neil Verplank to figure out what you could get away with on the Chicago River…. So five days later, we sailed the first of many dragon boats down the river just to see what would happen. The improvised flame thrower worked pretty well although you had to lean out over the river and hang onto the dragon’s neck in order to light it.
Bride of Daly Plaza, 2001Wood, Steel, Twine, Glass & Mixed64″ x 40″ x 30″Private Collection Part of a series of large junk sculptures that I planned to guerrilla install in Chicago. The bride’s breasts came from an hourglass shaped lamp discovered in an Indiana junkyard. the kitchen stool that forms her skirt and the suspended […]
Straightjacket, 2001Wood, Steel, Bottle caps & Mixed110″ x 32″ x 12″Private Collection Part of a series of large junk sculptures that I planned to guerrilla install in Chicago. The torso of this figure was a coin drawer. The head is a washboard and a cigar box.
Nkisi Corazon, 2000Wood, Steel, Wax, Thorns & Mixed47″ x 30″ x 30″Destroyed This piece was part of a assemblage/mixed media mural project, approximately 50′ x 20′ that I worked on with Juan Angel Chavez & Chris Silva.
Measuring the Moon at the Crossroads, 1996Wood, Steel, & Mixed18.25″ x 14.25″ x 5″Private Collection This was the first of the 2D Nkisi sculptures.
Hunter Nkondi, 1997 Wood, Steel, Bone & Mixed 56″ x 25.5″ x 6.5″ Available The image is carved out of the paint— I painted the whole sheet of steel, and then scratched away the paint to reveal the figure. What doesn’t come through well in the photo is the rich texture that this process created. […]
Underground, 1999Wood, Steel, Stone & Mixed27.5″ x 17.5″ x 6″Available The face in the top half is carved from roofing slate. The metal to the left is the running board of an ambulance found in Ypsilanti, MI. Mojo jars hang as medicines, covered in cloth bags and clay. The nails surrounding the root evoke minkisi […]
Medicine Nkondi, 1997Wood, Steel, Glass & Mixed12.75″ x 8.5″ x 4.5″Private Collection It’s difficult to see in the photo, but the figure in this piece is a transparency mounted below glass. The face is a shell cabochon I carved attached above the surface of the glass. The numbered keys from an adding machine are a […]
Bound Nkondi, 1997Wood, Steel, Paper, Glass & Mixed19.5″ x 14.5″ x 3″Private Collection In addition to nails, Nkisi often have knotted rope, string or chains to bind or guide the spirits within. So this photo of a heavily tied statue on a loading dock was a natural place to start from in a 2D nkisi. […]
Xenoglossophobia, 1995
Paper, Acrylic & Mixed
8″ x 11.5″ x .25″
Private collection
Six Poems, 1996Paper, Photographs, Transparencies, Ink9″ x 9″ x. 5″Private collection Artist’s Book in mixed media collage. A hinged Japanese fold binding, alternating collage and poems.
Navigator’s Log, 1995Paper, Cardboard, Steel & Mixed12″ x 9.5″ x 1″Private collection Artist’s Book in mixed media collage. Bound with copper rivets over tape measure.
Book of Spells, 1997
Paper, Steel, Aluminum, Acrylic & Mixed
10″ x 8″ x 2″
Private Collection
