METAL 2003-2020

Did I mention I get bored easily? In 2003, I became tired of polymer clay. As much as I loved it, it was too small, too cute and I was itching to find something else, something with more of a “Wow” factor. So I enrolled in a Metal Fabrication class at the local art college with no clue as to what it was about. Fancy my surprise when the teacher lit up the oxyacetylene torch and proceeded to weld two pieces of steel together. By the time he taught us how to use a MIG welder I was hooked and ready to jump into the next phase of my career: welded steel sculptures.

IN THE BEGINNING: METAL FABRICATION AT MICA

The first assignment was to take six 4 inch squares of sheet steel and make a box. Then we were told to revise it somehow, using one of the techniques he taught us. I chose to make a hurdy gurdy box titled “Therapy” because it showed the moment when you wish you could put everything you’ve learned about yourself back in the box and forget about it again. After that, each sculpture got progressively larger and more adventurous. I started to find the limitations of the medium, the hawk with a six foot wingspan barely fit in the back seat of my Toyota Camry. I went back the following semester and chose to use the entire time making a bear. That was the moment I realized I could make anything I wanted.

GOING BIG

So the only thing I could possibly do was to give up my studio in the mill town and find a large industrial space so that I could make BIG stuff. Once again, I started from scratch and built a working knowledge of welding and art on a grand scale.

GOING SMALLER

Some days I would work on smaller projects.