Lake Trout Mosaic, 2006Sicis Iridium glass tile, glass taxidermy eye, copper, Hardibacker substrate.11″ H x 18.5″ W x 1.5″ DPrivate Collection My daughter Mya did so well last summer helping me with mosaic that this year I had her create a whole line of fish. She got to do the fun parts—laying the tile and […]
Brook Trout Mosaic No. 1, 2006: Dimensions: 11″ high x 19″ wide x 1.5″ deep. Materials: Sicis Iridium glass tile, glass taxidermy eye, copper. Mosaic is set with mortar on a Hardibacker substrate over plywood and finished around the edges with copper banding.
Bluegill Mosaic, 2005
Sicis Iridium glass tile, glass taxidermy eye, copper.
11″ H x 17.5″ W x 1.5″ D
Rainbow Trout, 2002glass tile, glass eye, copper, Wonderboard substrate on plywood.27.5″ H x 16.5″ W x 1.5″ DCommission Rainbow Trout Commissioned by Jeff Ott for his office at Warner, Norcross & Judd. The iridescent glass tiles create a highly realistic shimmer on the surface of the fish.
This piece and the What Would Elvis Do? mirror were created for a show of all-Elvis art at Fleur Fine Art in Chicago.
This piece and the Elvis Is Love mirror were created for a show of all-Elvis art at Fleur Fine Art in Chicago.
When my dad was young he had a series of pet crows, all named Peter, and Peter was the hero of my bedtime stories.
Vévé for Erzuli Mosaic Table, 2003vitreous glass, glass gems, steel table.30″ Tall x 42″ x 42″Commission Laurie Beasley of Ridge Art commissioned this table, featuring a version of the Vévé for Erzulie, the Haitian goddess (Lwa) of love. My mosaic of the Vévé for Erzuli was also later used in the cover design of Envisioning […]
This table was commissioned by Angelo at Casa Loca in Chicago. The original design is from the Mexican Loteria deck, a traditional game similar to Bingo.
La Femme Astrale, 1999ceramic tile, plywood substrate.24″ x 48″ x 17″ highStolen, whereabouts unknown The design for this table was adapted from a 19th Century French poster for a floating woman act.… This is one of a set of four tables I did in collaboration with Neil Verplank. The orange background tile is really nice […]
Cocktail Girls, 1999ceramic tile, glass, plywood substrate.24″ x 48″ x 17″ highPrivate Collection The design for this table came from an antique matchbook… Most of my early mosaics were based on old 4 color ads and posters. The limited colors of tile I was using seemed well suited to matching that style, and as a […]
Ballad of the Dragon, 1999ceramic tile, glass, plywood substrate.24″ x 48″ x 17″ highCommission The design for this table was adapted from a metal engraving by José Guadalupe Posada. The eye is a photo pasted behind a Xerox copier lense. Most of my early mosaics were based on old 4 color ads and posters. The […]
The Friendly Gesture, 1999 ceramic tile, slate, plywood substrate. 24″ x 48″ x 17″ high Private Collection The design for this table came from an antique matchbook. The tile is a mix of ceramic and porcelain. The cigars I carved from slate.
DisneyQuest Chicago: Mosaic Mural and Sculpture, 2005
Plastic rhinestone mosaic
Commission
Shiny Happy Puppy: A Modern Take On An Ancient Mosaic When I first saw an image of this “beware of dog” mosaic from Ancient Rome, I immediately fell in love with it…. If you compare the flow of tile where the dog’s right shoulder and rear leg meet the body, I think you’ll agree that they look a little better than the original mosaic…. More importantly, I kind of feel like the world is far too full of warnings and dire threats these days and I just don’t want to contribute to the culture of fear even on a minor level…. This is the kind of thing that makes being an artist so much fun really— you start out with a simple idea like recreating an ancient door mat, and by the time you’re half-way through you’re doing amateur cultural analysis based on how the words available to a culture influence what and how they can think…. One guy had said something to the effect that he really didn’t care one way or the other about the war, the economy or stem cells, but he really wished that they would let him shoot the endangered wolves that were eating his cattle.
Christy MacLear commissioned this piece for her gallery, Fleur Fine Art, because people kept asking her to sell the mermaid from her private collection and she couldn’t bring herself to part with it. She gave me “total artistic freedom” to create any bottle cap mermaid I wanted to and I took that ball and ran with it. Unfortunately, this is currently the best photo I have, but I will replace it as soon as possible with one showing the mermaid straight-on. in the meantime, click here for a close-up of her face and hair.
La Siren With her Italian glass top and bottle cap tail, LaSiren reflects not just light but a sense of humor and playfulness. Private collection.
What I love most about this piece is the variety of interpretations I’ve heard— from holding up the weight of the worlds garbage, to being crushed by alcoholism, to a desire to drink in the entire world.
One of four mosaics commissioned by Eson Chan, Art Director at Northeastern University Magazine,to illustrate an article about dolphin watching off the coast of Spain.
Community Harmony Through Song & Play, Panel 1: Music, 2001Ceramic mosaic on wood substrate.66″ H x 48″ W x 2″ DPublic Art Commission Panel 1 portrays musical styles which have been cornerstones of the African American culture and experience. The sax man probably plays jazz or blues. The banjo player picks out a country blues […]
Community Harmony Through Song & Play, Panel 2: Arts and History, 2001Ceramic mosaic on wood substrate.66″ H x 48″ W x 2″ DPublic Art Commission An African horn player blows his horn from the deep past, communicating with the sax man in the first panel. Behind him a mask hangs like the sun in the […]
Community Harmony Through Song & Play Panel 3 In the park a band plays, a man and woman dance, a child jumps to catch the notes in the air…. A man sells balloons and children get sno-cones from a pushcart vendor, a common sight in North Lawndale…. Community Harmony Through Song & Play: panel 3, 2001: ceramic tile on wood substrate 66″ x 48″ x 2″ One of three mosaics created for Manly Career Academy High School in Chicago’s North Lawndale neighborhood. Assisted by Caswell James and advised by veteran muralist Nina Smoot-Cain, I worked with a team of nine community youths to design and produce three mosaic panels totaling 66 sqare feet. Commission sponsored by Chicago Public Art Group with support from Gallery 37 and the Mayor’s Office of Workforce Development.
My neighbor across the street lives in what was once the old train station, sometime around the turn of the century. He commissioned this piece for the exterior of his home. This was actually the most difficult mosaic I’ve done to date.
Mud’s Marker, 2001Concrete, Ceramic tile12.5″ H x 12″ W x 4″ DCommission I made the headstone above for Mud, a friend’s cat who had sadly used up it’s allotment of nine lives. The marker has been through five long winters in Michigan with no sign of wear.
The mosaic bottles shown here are a series completed between 1999–2002. They are inspired by the sequined libation bottles of Haitian Vodou, a standard feature of Vodou altars traditionally used in ceremony to serve rum to the spirits. Libation bottles are often much more plain than the ceremonial flags which have become one of Haiti’s […]
Three Billy Goats Gruff was the first drawing my daughter Mya did for our collaborative series of narrative sculptures.
The house is made from an old refrigerator drawer and the rest is recycled steel plate. The wind from the wolf’s mouth is copper plated welding rod. The plants are scrap left over from cutting out the flames on the Firebird Grill.
Galaxy No. 3, 2005
recycled steel
139 H x 133 W x 14 in at the base
Galaxy No. 2, 2004 Steel 82″ x 82″ x 14″ Collection: Kathleen Glynn & Michael Moore. The Galaxy Series of sculptures is inspired in part by David Smith’s sculptures Australia and Royal Bird. But I also enjoyed the comment left by Craig Ross when I first posted images of the piece, which he called “Souped-up and Mondrian reminiscent.”
The Galaxy Series are Modernist inspired, abstract wind vanes made from recycled steel.
The figures below are one-of-a-kind pieces inspired by, and built around, stone shapes that catch my eye from the cast-away pile at a local stone vendor’s. Because the stone is polished on one side only, the back is decorated with copper.
Swiss Army Horse, 2000
Recycled steel, grout
dimensions variable
Collection: Marilyn Houlberg
The better part of two 1/4 mile spools of wire went into making this fountain.
Cycling Salamander Windvane, a kinetic sculpture windvane commissioned in 2004
Grasschopper Wind Vane, 2004
Steel, cast iron, copper
60″ H x 40″ W x 20″ D
Private Collection
The Dancer Sculptures come in two styles: the steel and copper version shown here and a powder coat enamel version.
The Dancer Sculptures come in two styles: the powder coat enamel version shown here and a steel and copper version.
In creating these sculptures, I try to capture the essential gesture so precisely that the mind completes the movement—making a still image appear to be in motion. My goal is to create engaging characters which anyone can relate to and enjoy
Scrapyard Abstract No. 8 (Houses and Weather), 2006recycled steel14 x 10 x 3 in Although the steel in this sculpture was crushed, compacted and sheared intentionally, by a machine at the junk yard, it reminds me of what you see when heavy weather tears through a trailer park. The jagged piece in the center resembles […]
When I made this piece, I saw it as an animal running at full tilt, turning sharply mid-run on two legs. I love the way the tail whips around through the air and the head stretches outward, still thrust in the original direction.
Odysseus lashed himself to the mast of his ship to avoid being seduced by the cries of the sirens into grounding on the shoals of a reef. This sculpture suggests all the elements of that myth to me… from some angles it resembles a ship leaning into a strong wind, from others, the bust of a head with large lips and a strong, heroic nose.
Arbor Vitae reminds me of music in some ways, referencing both notes on a page and sort of twining piano keys. It also makes me think of a storm, or vortex, or swirling smoke. But the breakthrough idea came when I saw it as a sheltering tree, and that sort of pointed me in another direction.
These three sculptures are early examples of sculpture based on line art drawings. The Guardian sculpture is one of the few I’ve done which combines lines and planes.
Abstract Bull, State 11. 2005. Steel. Dimensions variable. Private Collection Picasso has had a quiet, but huge influence on my fences and sculpture. Whatever else you may choose to say about the man, he had a knack for drafting the perfect line and I’ve aspired to match him on that when drawing my Acrobats and […]
A collaboration with Kenneth Morrison. He originated the concept and sketched a rough layout for overall project. I designed and fabricated indivdual panels. The choice of which panels went together was his. It was a little like an enormous steel version of the exquisite corpse game played by the Surrealists…in which players take turns adding to a drawing without seeing the parts drawn by the last player.
The gates shown here are largely created from various recycled elements. They were part of a larger project in Chicago, IL by Kenneth Morrison on which I collaborated.
Window Grilles, 2005:steel, 20.75″ H x 20″ W x .25″ DPrivate Collection This pair of window grates was created from a sheet of scrap steel left over after a factory cut blanks for what might have been rotating blades for a mower. I included a larger image of a single grate because I feel the […]
E. Jones wanted burglar bars for her ground floor windows, but she didn’t want to feel like she was in prison when she looked through them.
The floral pattern in these fences was designed to complement clerestory windows overlooking the courtyard where they are installed. Incorporating natural slate, iridescent glass mosaic tile and copper, this project is the culmination of techniques I have been developing over the past few years.
The most interesting part of this half of the fence design (installed on Cermak, around the corner from part one) is that several of the elements are kinetic and can be moved or repositioned.
City Gates, commissioned by Bob Racky for his offices at 4022 N. Sheridan Road, Chicago, features two pairs of gates based on maps of the Chicago area. The south gates show Riverside, IL and feature urban planning by Frederic Law Olmstead in the lower left corner. It’s not on every project that an ironworker gets to “quote” the designer of Central Park!
Having seen pictures of my Acrobat Fence, my friends Howie and JoAnn approached me to design four sections of fence to enclose a round garden at their Evanston, Illinois residence. Together, they scripted a narrative telling the story of their lives together in four acts: meeting and falling in love; traveling Asia; their first child, Gabriel; and their second child, Julian.
These graceful figures suggest both the motion of their dance and the music that moves them. The obvious joy of the figures is engaging— but their simplicity is what really captivates us. We can easily see ourselves, someone we know, or the person we might like to be in this dance.
The Mosaics: Music | History | Peace in the Park Contents: Credits | The Design Process | Creating the mosaics | The Youth Artists Credits Lead Artist: Rachael Que VargasAssistant Artist: Caswell JamesMentor: Nina Smoot-Cain With Youth Artists: Sheena Barlow, DeJuan Birge, Katheris Ellis, Ashley Harvey, Kenyetta Howard, Ernest Johnson, Deanna McElroy, Tiana Solid, Andrew […]
While I was in Chicago, I delivered the finished mosaic of Frank Chance that Mya and I worked on this summer. This is the second of a tryptich featuring portraits of Joe Tinker, Johnny Evers and Frank Chance.
Erastes + Eromenos Marble Mosaic, 2005Marble mosaic on Durock substrate. Steel frame.62″ x 38″ x 2″ D The original vase painting this mosaic is based on has been dated approximately 500 BC. It depicts an older lover (erastes) and his beloved youth (eromenos) making love surrounded by egg-like pillows. I’ve always been fascinated with the […]
Anima Sola/Marinette Altar, 2004Steel, cast iron, vitreous glass mosaic, slate,antique mirror, copper, bronze76″ H x 31″ W x 10″ DPrivate collection I’ve always wanted to do a mosaic of the image of Anima Sola, or “The Lost Soul.” It’s such a powerful image… When my friend Marilyn Houlberg told me she was organizing a museum […]
For a long time, my most well-know work was the Devil Girl tile mosaic windvane. I felt like she needed an angelic sister to balance the family. So last winter while the snow piled up to the eves of my studio I created this sleeping angel. I knew exactly what pose I wanted, but, not having access to a live model I had to search the web for an image to work from.
The Amazing Devil Girl— She Whirls!, 2000ceramic mosaic, plywood, steel, copper, bronze87.25″ H x 48″ W x 13″ D I’m pretty sure I’m the only mosaic artist who’s ever made a wind powered kinetic mosaic sculpture… The wind vane sculpture shown above is the second of two which I’ve made. The original was done […]
The city of Lincoln City, OR commissioned this Fish and a 41 inch Waves O’ Fire Sculptural Firebowl as public art. I was a Featured Artist at the Art Sea Festival and gave a live demonstration of creating a Bottle Cap Mosaic.
Bottle Cap Mosaic Fish No. 54, 2007plywood, primer, bottle caps, recycled bronze sheet, copper nails26″ x 55.5″ x 1.5″ This bottle cap mosaic fish was a commission to recreate as closely as possible Bottle Cap Mosaic Fish No. 4 and No. 42. A combination of caps, Sierra Nevada, Stewarts Ginger Beer, Dos Equis and Becks went […]
Bottle Cap Mosaic Fish No. 53, 2011plywood, primer, bottle caps, recycled copper roofing, copper nails20″ x 50″ x 1.5″ This bottle cap mosaic fish is made from Corona and Corona Light bottle caps. The fins and tale are cut from recycled roofing copper. The eye is a jar lid. All the caps are partially crimped but […]
Bottle Cap Mosaic Fish No. 52, 2011plywood, primer, bottle caps, recycled car body, copper nails20″ x 50″ x 1.5″ This fish is made from Blue Moon, Maine Root and Michelob Ultra bottle caps. The fins and tale are cut from vintage car metal from the 60’s or 70’s. The eye is a jar lid with […]
Bottle Cap Mosaic Fish No. 51, 2010plywood, primer, bottle caps, recycled car body, copper nails20″ x 50″ x 1.5″ This bottle cap fish mosaic was a recent commission based on Bottle Cap Mosaic Fish No. 47. I love the fins, which were cut from an old Chevy van of some kind… the grooves in the […]
Bottle Cap Mosaic Fish No. 50, 2011plywood, primer, bottle caps, spatula, dust pan, antique rake, copper nails20″ x 55.5″ x 1.5″ Commission loosely based on Fish numbers 4 and 5. This bottle cap mosaic fish is made from Heineken and Oberon bottle caps. The fins are cut from a steel dust pan with corrugated sides. The […]
Bottle Cap Mosaic Fish No. 49, 2009plywood, primer, bottle caps, recycled copper roofing, copper nails20″ x 50″ x 1.5″ This Bottle Cap Mosaic Fish is made with Budweiser and Budweiser Select caps. This was commissioned for a 50th birthday gift, and the client specifically requested BudWeiser caps. The fins and tale are cut from an old […]
Bottle Cap Mosaic Fish No. 48, 2008plywood, primer, bottle caps, recycled copper roofing, copper nails12″ x 40″ x 1.5″ This bottle cap mosaic fish is made from a mix of blue bottle caps with a white face made of Becks caps. The fins and tale are cut from recycled roofing copper. The eye is a […]
Bottle Cap Mosaic Fish No. 47, 2008plywood, primer, bottle caps, recycled car body, copper nails20″ x 50″ x 1.5″ This fish is made from Heineken, Bud Light and Becks bottle caps. The fins and tale are cut from vintage car metal from the 60’s or 70’s. The eye is a jar lid with a bottle […]
Bottle Cap Mosaic Fish No. 26, 2006plywood, primer, bottle caps, recycled vintage car steel, copper nails12″ x 40″ x 1.5″ This bottle cap mosaic fish is made from two different styles of Bud Light bottle caps. The fins and tale are cut from vintage car metal from the 60’s or 70’s. All the caps are partially […]
Bottle Cap Mosaic Fish No. 45, 2008plywood, primer, bottle caps, recycled copper roofing, copper nails20″ x 50″ x 1.5″ This bottle cap mosaic fish is made from Michelob and Labatts bottle caps. The fins and tale are cut from recycled roofing copper. The eye is a jar lid. All the caps are partially crimped but not […]
Bottle Cap Mosaic Fish No. 44, 2009plywood, primer, bottle caps, vintage car steel, copper nails12″ x 40″ x 1.5″ This bottle cap mosaic fish is made from Coke, Becks and Harpoon bottle caps. The fins and tale are cut from vintage car metal from the 60’s or 70’s. All the caps are partially crimped but not […]
Bottle Cap Mosaic Fish No. 43, 2008plywood, primer, bottle caps, recycled copper roofing, copper nails20″ x 50″ x 1.5″ This bottle cap mosaic fish is made from a wide mix of bottle caps. The fins and tale are cut from recycled roofing copper. The eye is a jar lid. All the caps are partially crimped […]
Bottle Cap Mosaic Fish No. 42, 2007plywood, primer, bottle caps, recycled roofing copper, copper nails26″ x 55.5″ x 1.5″ This bottle cap mosaic fish was a commission to recreate as closely as possible Bottle Cap Mosaic Fish No. 4. A combination of caps, Sierra Nevada, Stewarts Ginger Beer, Dos Equis and Becks went into this attempt to […]
Bottle Cap Mosaic Fish No. 40, 2006plywood, primer, bottle caps, recycled car steel, brass nails20″ H x 27″ W x 1.5″ D This fish is made from Reed soda and Harp beer bottle caps. The fins and tail are cut from vintage car metal from the 60’s or 70’s. The eye is a jar lid. All […]
Bottle Cap Mosaic Fish No. 39, 2006plywood, primer, bottle caps, vintage car steel, copper nails20″ x 55.5″ x 1.5″ This bottle cap mosaic fish is made from Two different styles of Bud Light bottle caps. The fins and tail are cut from vintage car metal from the 60’s or 70’s. The eye is a jar […]
Bottle Cap Mosaic Fish No. 38, 2006plywood, primer, bottle caps, vintage car steel, copper nails20″ x 55.5″ x 1.5″ This bottle cap mosaic fish is made from Labatts and Newcastle Brown Ale bottle caps. The fins and tail are cut from vintage car metal from the 60’s or 70’s. The eye is a jar lid and […]
Bottle Cap Mosaic Fish No. 36, 2006plywood, primer, bottle caps, recycled copper roofing, copper nails20″ x 50″ x 1.5″ This bottle cap mosaic fish is made from Amstel Light, Peroni and Bass Ale bottle caps. I love the way that the coloration of the caps mirror each other— Some are red with a little gold, […]
Bottle Cap Mosaic Fish No. 35, 2006plywood, primer, bottle caps, vintage car steel, antique rake, brass nails20″ x 55.5″ x 1.5″ This bottle cap mosaic fish is made from Labatts and Molson bottle caps. I wish I had a better photo of the way the light reacted with this one— the little bit of red […]
Bottle Cap Mosaic Fish No. 34, 2006plywood, primer, bottle caps, tin can, brass plated nails20″ x 50″ x 1.5″ This fish is made from Corona, Corona Light and S. Pelligrino bottle caps. The fins and tale are cut from vintage car metal from the 60’s or 70’s. The eye is a Grey Poupon jar lid […]
Bottle Cap Mosaic Fish No. 32, 2006plywood, primer, bottle caps, bronze sheet, copper nails20″ x 50″ x 1.5″ This bottle cap mosaic fish is made from Heineken, Pacifico and one Topo Chico bottle caps. The fins and tale are cut from bronze sheet recycled from a door kickplate. The eye is a jar lid and a […]
Here’s another narrative sculpture that Mya designed. Click the thumbnail images to see detail shots. I love the way she used the tree and the bed post to organize the frames of the story! Pretty sophisticated work for a sixteen-year old.This piece can either be a table-top sculpture, or can be mounted to the wall with shelf brackets.
Bottle Cap Mosaic Fish No. 30, 2006plywood, primer, bottle caps, vintage car steel, brass gear, copper nails20″ x 50″ x 1.5″ This bottle cap mosaic fish is made from Coke and Beck’s bottle caps. I love the way that the coloration of the caps mirror each other— Coke is red with a little white […]
Bottle Cap Mosaic Fish No. 28, 2006plywood, primer, bottle caps, recycled copper roofing, copper nails20″ x 50″ x 1.5″ This bottle cap mosaic fish is made from Coke and Beck’s bottle caps. I love the way that the coloration of the caps mirror each other— Coke is red with a little white and Becks is […]
Bottle Cap Mosaic Fish No. 26, 2006 plywood, primer, bottle caps, recycled copper roofing, copper nails 12″ x 40″ x 1.5″ This bottle cap mosaic fish is made from Heineken and Becks bottle caps. The fins and tale are cut from recycled roofing copper. All the caps are partially crimped but not flattened and then nailed […]
Bottle Cap Mosaic Fish No. 24, 2006plywood, primer, bottle caps, recycled copper roofing, copper nails20″ x 50″ x 1.5″ This bottle cap mosaic fish is made from all different kinds of bottle caps— every brand that was mostly white or mostly black but uncommon enough that I only had a few. So both sections have […]
Bottle Cap Mosaic Fish No. 22, 2006bottle caps, recycled roofing copper, plywood, primer, 20″ H x 27″ W x 2.5″ D This fish is made from Sam Adams, Reed, and Export Special bottle caps. The fins and tale are cut from recycled roofing copper. The eye is a jar lid. All the caps are partially […]
Bottle Cap Mosaic Fish No. 21, 2006 plywood, primer, bottle caps, recycled roofing copper 20″ H x 27″ W x 2.5″ D This fish is made from Bud Light and Izze bottle caps. The fins and tale are cut from recycled roofing copper. The eye is a jar lid. All the caps are partially crimped […]
Bottle Cap Mosaic Fish No. 17, 2006plywood, primer, bottle caps, recycled tin cans, brass nails20″ H x 27″ W x 1.5″ D This fish is made from Rolling Rock, Red Stripe and Pacifico bottle caps. The fins and tale are cut from recycled tin cans. The eye is a jar lid. All the caps are […]
Bottle Cap Mosaic Fish No. 15, 2006plywood, primer, bottle caps, printed signage, brass nails18″ x 48″ x 1.5″ This Bottle Cap Mosaic Fish is made with Budweiser and Budweiser Select caps. The fins and tale are cut from an old enamel beer sign. The eye is a jar lid. All the caps are partially crimped and […]
I wish I had better photos of the two Phoenix + Flames Sculptural Fire Pits at Westin Kaanapali Ocean Resort Villas, Lahaina, Hawaii. Installed on stone pillars in the pool, they provide dramatic lighting and reflections on the water.
Harris, Dana. “Let Me Stand Next to Your Fire.” Variety 30 June 2006: v4.
Cara was born in the dead center of the twentieth century, Solstice day, 1950…. Stacey bought her a Great Bowl O Fire to celebrate her birthday and the Solstice this year. You should have seen Cara’s face when I pulled up to deliver it.Tomorrow, the days start getting shorter again… but tonight, I think there’s going to be a pretty wild women’s gathering around the ring of stones in Cara and Stacey’s back 40. One of my favorite things about working in the arts is creating work that helps people articulate their dreams, passions and beliefs.I would have gone on at great length about this when I was a poet, but my friend Britt sent me a poem by Mary Oliver this morning that covers it nicely. And the photo speaks for itself as well.The Rapture,All SummerI wandered the fieldsThat were thickeningEvery morning,Every rainfall,With weeds and blossomsWith the long loops of shimmering, and the extravagant –Pale as flames they roseAnd fell back,Replete and beautiful –That was all there was –And I tooOnce or twice, at least,Felt myself rising,My bootsTouching suddenly the tops of weeds,The blue and silky air –Listen,Passion did it,Called me forth,Addled me,Stripped me cleanThen covered me with the cloth of happiness –I think there is no other prize,Only rapture the gleaming,Rapture the illogical the weightless –Whether it be for the perfect shapelinessOf something you love –Like an old german song –Or of someone –Or the dark floss of the earth itself,Heavy and electric.At the edge of sweet sanity openSuch wild, blind wings.
Johnson, Ashley. “Hit List.” The Wave Magazine May 2006.
A Mermaid and her Fish, 2006Recycled steel,54″ H x 37″ W x .25″ DCollection: Jerry’s Sandwiches, Chicago, IL A bold, graphic sculpture made from recycled car steel. The corrugated steel in the background is not part of the piece. Mermaid is similar in style to Atlas “World Famous”, but rather than being a free standing […]
Atlas: World Famous is my first large-scale sculpture made using the newly operational plasma cutter to create metal “collage.”
Aluminum + Copper Fish Sign, 2005Recycled Aluminum, copper and plywood.51″ H x 96″ W x 1″ D Originally going to be a sign for the studio, I decided I liked this piece better as art. I made it before I had a plasma cutter, so the whole thing was cut with shears and a jigsaw. […]
“Artist enlists Picasso in fight against war,” The Orlando Sentinel, Orlando, FL , January 14, 2006,
“Picasso painting becomes anti-Iraq war symbol,” Naples Daily News, Naples, FL , January 13, 2006
“Picasso painting becomes anti-Iraq war symbol,” The Arizona Republic, Phoenix, AZ , January 12, 2006
I finished the marble mosaic for Tommy Jenkins last week and brought it down to Chicago on this trip. Tommy does massage therapy and just opened up his own space recently.
“Gift Rapt: A green gift-giving guide for all the folks on your holiday list,” Grist Magazine
