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
Buckingham, Bill. Mosaic Art 2005 Yearbook. DVD.
Radio Interview, Spin 103.8, Dublin, Ireland, November 7, 2005.
Bottle Cap Mosaic Fish No. 12, 2005plywood, primer, bottle caps, bronze sheet, rake, brass nails18″ x 55.5″ x 1.5″ This fish is made from Red Stripe and Becks bottle caps. The fins and tale are cut from an antique gasoline can. The eye is recycled roofing copper and a bottle cap. All the caps are […]
Bottle Cap Mosaic Fish No. 10, 2005plywood, primer, bottle caps, bronze sheet, rake, brass nails18″ x 55.5″ x 1.5″ This fish is made from Amstel Light and Bass Ale bottle caps. The fins are cut from bronze plate and the tail is a rake. All the caps are partially crimped but not flattened and then nailed […]
Bottle Cap Mosaic Fish No. 8, 2005plywood, primer, bottle caps, tin can, stainless steel nails12″ x 35.5″ x 1.5″ This Bottle Cap Mosaic Fish is made with two different styles of Bud Light caps. The fins are cut from tin cans and the tail comes from a trivet for resting hot irons. The eye is […]
Scrappy Rooster: Scrapyard Abstract No. 2, 2005
Recycled steel.
33″ x 21″ x 12″
Organ: Scrapyard Abstract No. 3, 2005.
Recycled steel.
76″ x 37″ x 31″
Bouche: Scrapyard Abstract No. 4, 2005
Recycled steel.
25″ x 15″ x 11″
The sculpture above looks a bit like a fish on the one side and a bird on the other… but what it really reminds me of are terra cotta ocarinas I’ve seen from Mexico and South America. I love the patina on it, although that will really only last if it is kept indoors. It doesn’t work especially well as a ground sculpture, but is quite lovely when displayed between waist and eye level on a table or pedestal.
Little Colossus started out as a base for Galaxy No. 3 but soon made it clear that it wanted to be it’s own sculpture. There are some photos on the studio blog from before it was painted that show some of the cool tricks it can do with light and shadow.
“Great bowls o’ fire,” Wednesday Journal, Oak Park, IL, September 7, 2005, Section one, 20.
“Mood, warmth… and a little poetry,” Chicago Tribune, Chicago, IL, August 14, 2005, Section four, 3.
About CANtern Hand-cut Luminaries What I enjoy about making the CANtern luminaries is the way they allow me to think in the exact opposite way I do when I make fences or sculpture… When you’re welding steel together, all the lines need to meet and be attached to one another. With the luminaria, the […]
Jardin, Xeni. “Hot-Rod Style Fire Pit.” Boing Boing, 1 June 2005.
The Fish design has been my best seller from day one. Everybody needs more fish! The light shadows this one casts are really cool, like a whole shimmering trout stream swimming in the dark, flicking their tails as the candle shimmers. See all the CANtern Luminary designs.To learn more, read the CANtern FAQ page.
The Electro Tiger Kitty design has always been my favorite of the Cantern designs.It’s also the most difficult to get right. See all the CANtern Luminary designs.To learn more, read the CANtern FAQ page.
The Petroglyph Canterns are my jazz moment… I make them up as I go alongand although they are similar, none are really the same. Each one features differentcharacters loosely based on the petroglyphs of indigenous cultures the world over. See all the CANtern Luminary designs.To learn more, read the CANtern FAQ page.
The Scarab Beetle was sacred to the Ancient Egyptians as a symbol of the sun traveling across the sky. This Scarab Cantern will light up your yard or patio all evening unless his cousin the June Bug flies into the candle and puts it out. If you prefer, you can think of this as the […]
The Radiant Heart CANtern shows rays illuminating outward from the heart ina symbol of universal and growing love. See all the CANtern Luminary designs.To learn more, read the CANtern FAQ page.
The Sacred Heart CANtern is slightly different on each side: One side has an eye in the middle of the heart, the other side has a smaller heart nested within the first. See all the CANtern Luminary designs.To learn more, read the CANtern FAQ page.
The Eyes CANtern reminds me of the opening credits for Scooby Doo. It casts a particularly nice glowing image of the eyes when lit. See all the CANtern Luminary designs.To learn more, read the CANtern FAQ page.
The Spiral CANtern is a nice example of a simple, traditional design. See all the CANtern Luminary designs.To learn more, read the CANtern FAQ page.
Mosaic Art + Style: Designs for Living Environments, JoAnn Locktov, Rockport Publishers, March, 2005. 117.
“Copyright or Wrong,” Chicago Reader, Chicago, IL, February 11, 2005, Section One, 3.
If you’re going to work in the arts, there are three things you must have—Time, Space & Resources (Resources meaning materials and tools, or the money to get them). You absolutely need all three and you must have them simultaneously. In fact, this is probably true regardless of what you’re trying to accomplish. Let’s do […]
Bottle Cap Mosaic Fish No. 7, 2005plywood, primer, bottle caps, tin can, dust pan, bronze nails18″ x 55.5″ x 1.5″ This fish is made from Heineken, Budweiser Select and unidentified bottle caps. The plywood is primed with two layers of Kilz primer. I love the copper colored dust pan for the tail fin. The way […]
Bottle Cap Mosaic Fish No. 5, 2005plywood, primer, bottle caps, tin can, antique rake, bronze shipwright’s nails and brass plated nails26″ x 55.5″ x 1.5″ This fish is made from Heinekin, S. Pelligrino, and Newcastle bottle caps. The fins and tale are cut from recycled tin cans. All the caps are partially crimped but not flattened […]
Bottle Cap Mosaic Fish No. 4, 2005plywood, primer, bottle caps, tin can, antique rake, bronze shipwright’s nails and copper rose head nails26″ x 55.5″ x 1.5″ A combination of caps, Sierra Nevada, Stewarts Ginger Beer, Dos Equis and Becks went into this attempt to capture the gradient of a trout in bottle caps. The fins […]
Bottle Cap Mosaic Fish No. 3, 2005plywood, primer, bottle caps, tin can, brass plated nails12″ x 35.5″ x 1.5″ This fish is made from Corona and Corona Light bottle caps. The fins and tale are cut from recycled tin cans. The eye is a jar lid. All the caps are partially crimped but not flattened and […]
Bottle Cap Mosaic Fish No. 2, 2005plywood, primer, bottle caps, tin can, stainless steel nails12″ x 35.5″ x 1.5″ This Bottle Cap Mosaic Fish is made with Budweiser and Bud Light caps. The fins and tale are cut from tin cans. The eye is a jar lid. All the caps are partially crimped and then […]
The Rocket Stool was a commission designed to fit an existing vanity table. The seat, the circles in the backrest and the chair’s feet are worked from hand-textured copper.
Screw it! Chair + Table Set, 2005Recycled SteelDimensions VariablePrivate Collection
Antique Radiator Firewood Cradle, 1999Cast iron, recycled steel.23.5″ x 22″ x 8.5″Private collection I love the visual pun of making a cradle for holding fire wood from sections of an old radiator.
Malleable Metals Exhibit Catalog, Jordan River Arts Council, East Jordan, MI, 2004, 1, 17
“Malleable Metals opens Saturday in East Jordan,” Petoskey News Review, Petoskey, MI, September 14, 2004, Section one, 7.
Joe Tinker Mosaic Portrait, 2004vitreous glass mosaic, steel frame, copper.48″ H x 30″ W x 1.5″ DCommission This is the first panel in a triptych featuring portraits of Joe Tinker, Johnny Evers and Frank Chance. Tinker to Evers to Chance: A Tribute to the Chicago Cubs Here is the full triptych. Here are the baseball […]
Bottle Cap Mosaic Fish No. 1, 2004plywood, primer, bottle caps, tin can, earring, gear, copper nails12″ x 35.5″ x 1.5″ My favorite Jim Harrison poem begins: I want to die in the saddle. An enemy of civilizationI want to walk around in the woods, fish and drink. Every couplet thereafter ends in variations on fishing […]
The Artful Home, Edition 2, Guild Sourcebooks, April 1, 2004. 86.
Patty LaNoue Stearns, “Have a Seat,” Northern Home Magazine, Vol. 9, No. 1, January-February, 2004, 9
Frankie Machine Community Garden Sign, 2003Recycled Steel. The sign for Frankie Machine Community Garden in Chicago used to get stolen on a fairly regular basis by Nelson Algren fans… So I was hired to create a sign that would be more difficult to abscond with.
“The Days of the Dolphins,” 4 marble mosaics, Northeastern University Magazine, Vol. 28, No. 2, 2002, 14, 17, 21-22
“Pilsen On Display,” New City, Artbreak, Chicago, IL, September 28, 2000, 25.
“Artist John Unger to Talk About Graveyard Sculpture Installation,” Charleston Times-Courier, Charleston, IL, February 12, 2000, C9.
Cover Feature, Charleston Times-Courier, Spotlight Arts and Entertainment, Charleston, IL, February 12-18, 2000, 1.
6 page pictorial spread, The Cream City Review, Vol. 24, No. 1, University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee, Milwaukee, WI, 30-35, 134
Unger, John T. “Sold My Soul for Rock ‘N Roll”, Sextablos: Works on Metals. Chicago: Luna Books, 1999. 9, 15.
Edstrom, Elaine. “Jammin'” White Pine Press 6 Nov. 1989: 1.
“On Exhibit: A Secret Society Shows Itself” by Michael Bulka
