The Final Five for SOFA Chicago 2010

Faternus & Packardi
Wood/metal/inner tubes/found objects
28" x 18" x 21"

I have started walking on a trail by the local college that my daughter is attending. It goes through high prairie, with a mixture of desert grasses, arroyos and pinon and juniper trees.

The other day I went for a walk out there, hoping that I would stumble on my next inspiration for a sculpture. Unexpectedly, out of the high grass, a huge raven flew up. He circled around me, then perched on an old dead pinon tree, watching me as I walked by. I can tell you he was BIG and DARK, a blue-black shimmery presence...a bird not easily forgotten.

During that walk, I saw about a dozen ravens and crows. I also realized that I wanted to make some of these intense birds myself. The natural material to cover them in seemed to be inner tubes. By the time I got back to my studio,I had planned this piece in my head.

The two birds are wrapped in tubing, giving them an intense mummy-like 'look' but also a feeling that their bursting energy is contained inside the forms...but not for long.



Paromius
Wood/metal/cloth/found objects
32" x 29" x 11"

Pelicans are amazing birds, flying like WWII bombers, skimming the water in perfect formation. Throwing their heads back to swallow their catch, their flappy gullets act like garbage disposals, consuming everything. I've never heard the sound that pelicans make, but I better it is expressive.

Earlier this summer I made a pelican head, in honor of all the birds caught in the oil spill in the gulf. This is the first full body pelican that I have built. His legs are old croquet mallet handles and his chest is covered in a child's white bicycle tire. His 'feathers' are a combination of dead branches, old metal pipes, pieces of tire rims and a rusted bicycle chain. His gullet is made from an old screen door. I painted his feet blue.

There is quite an assortment of old tools, bits of wood and metal, and found objects hanging off of him. His wooden neck had rusted nails and screws attached to it.



Degeeri
Wood/metal/lead/stone/found objects
26" x 19" x 9"

Otters are so expressive and energetic. This fellow had kept the rock that he uses to break clam shells with him as he peers around. I found that rock on a beach outside of Sitka, Alaska, where I saw both sea and river otters.

His body is wrapped in a layer of lead sheeting, giving him a nautical look. An old mountain bike tire is attached to his chest and his back. Odds and ends are hanging off his body.

His tail is made up of old sticks and pieces of rusted metal and banded with a couple of pipe clamps and his hands and feel are made from wrapped wire.



Melanotus
Wood/metal/cloth/found objects
33" x 12"x 12"

I continue to make a variety of rabbits--sitting, standing, and, of course, running.
This fellow carries a small (sharp) saw blade. Mischief seems to be on his mind!



Banksi
Wood/cloth/metal/found objects
20" x 6" x 36"

Rabbits are incredibly graceful when they are running.(I bet that's not what they are worried about when they run.) This rabbit is in mid-stride, jumping over a small chamisa bush.

He is built from a combination of mountain bike tires, old tin cans, rivets, and a lot of found objects.

Commission

Thyanta's Treasure
Wood/cloth/metal/found objects
29" x 23" x 8"

This monkey was created for a wonderful collector from Texas. She commissioned me to make the monkey for her son.

I think of this creature coming in the box that he stands on, kind of like a kit that you could buy to build animals. His hair and tail are made from steel wool. He is holding a glass door knob, which gives the piece an almost Victorian feel.

Another Piece for SOFA Chicago

Saffrana and Mezira
M/m
38" x 32" x 18"

This is the second piece that I have created where two dogs are traveling together. I am fascinated by the interaction between them, both the emotional charge and physical presence.

One dog is quite a bit larger than the other one. I see them as partners signaling each other. Each has a subtlety raised paw, which we humans do not know the meaning of, but they do.

Four New Pieces for SOFA Chicago

The Courtship of Purcist & Osmia
Wood/metal/cloth/found objects
22" x 30" x 22"

When I was a kid, my father kept chickens in an old shed on the property. One of my jobs was to feed them and also get the eggs. Often when I was in the shed, the roosters would chase me into a corner and peck my bare feet. It hurt like hell! I'd finally get up enough courage to make a run for the door, often forgetting to both feed the chickens and get the eggs.

These two chickens, a rooster and hen, are in the middle of a courtship dance (at least in my mind.) He is standing proud, showing off his glorious tail feathers, while the hen struts in front of him, dazzling him with her colorful wings. Both try to impress the other.

Both birds are built from an assortment of branches, metal, bike tires and found objects.



Lateralis
Wood/metal/cloth/found objects
47" x 10" x 10"

Years ago one of the first birds that I made was a Great Blue Heron. I am revisiting this species with this latest creation. I find these striking birds to be both prehistoric and futuristic at the same time.

Lateralis has a body wrapped in a children's white bicycle tire, a neck plumage made from a black mountain bike tire and wing and tail feathers comprised of branches, metal rods, and left over tire elements. Hanging off of him are old hand tools like screw drivers and punches. The yellow feathers seen on his chest are made from old electrical wire.



Oliarus
Wood/metal/cloth/found objects
34" x 10" x 10"

The one creature that I keep coming back to over and over again is the rabbit. I still love finding new ideas, expressions and actions for them.(In New Mexico they get BIG and feel a bit menacing.)

This standing rabbit is a bit of a trickster. He is looking over his shoulder as he holds an old saw blade in his hands. Is he going to saw something down, throw the blade at somebody, or use it as a musical instrument(as is seen in southern jug bands.)?

He is made from old sticks, cloth, rusted and painted metal and found objects.



Pallida
Wood/metal/cloth/found objects
31" x 28" x 14"

I also love making dogs, and think about them as a universal breed. My dogs have combinations of just about everything from Chiwawas to Arctic Wolves. (My father loved animals, especially dogs. I was always around them and I can remember just about every one, from the noisy basset hound to the feisty Jack Russel and the assortment of playful yellow and black labs.)

I think of Pallida as a scout, ahead of the pack, checking out the territory. He is alert, but at the same time perky and playful. You can tell from the way his feet are positioned.

He is crafted from old sticks, cloth, rusted and painted metal and found objects.

Two Dogs

The Trek of Galguphia and Saldula
Wood/cloth/metal/wire/found objects
38" x 24" x 24"

This sculpture is based on my trek in the Himalayas in 2005. I went there to celebrate turning 50 with my friend Mark. I think of these dogs as Mark and myself on the trail. The final trek to reach the pass at over 16,000 feet was incredibly intense but an amazing life-changing experience. These guys are celebrating that experience.

The base is fabricated from old, rusted Coleman stove gas containers, which seems appropriate. The dogs are made from mountain bike tires, sticks, screws, bolts, and found objects.

Swimming Otter

Oecleus
Lead/wood/metal/found objects
40" x 11" x 11"

China Painting

A Portrait of The Artist As A Rabbit
18" x 15" x 3"
Painting/wood/lead/tire/found objects

After reading an article in The New Yorker about fine art painting factories in China, I got this idea that I wanted my own painting created.


First off, I had an image of one of my rabbits set into a surrealistic background created digitally. Then I sent the digital file to a painting company in China. One month later the painting arrived on my door step. It looked almost exactly like the file that I had sent to them.

In framing the piece I had an idea of something more medieval or ornate. I gave a rough idea of the frame to a framer and he built the form, then I added onto it and covered the wood with a variety of materials that I am currently using such as lead, mountain bike tires and found objects.

This photograph is the result of my efforts to create a portrait of one of my animals in another media.