SCULPTURE

Sometimes I like to break from the 2D plane and work with my hands to create objects that feel sacred to me. My grandfathers and uncles were an inspiration from an early age, carving mostly into wood. Learning how to carve wood has led me to think about how I can carve into other materials like brick, stone, and plaster using an electric engraver and mason discs with angle grinders, and Dremel tools. I am also having a lot of fun with mold making, allowing me to cast multiples of an original carving.

PLASTER CARVING AND CASTING

It all started with some bocce balls and some Smooth-On OOMOO-30 mold-making silicone rubber. I then carved into my casted plaster bocce balls, and then made molds of those carvings. Casting of multiples is a very fun process that reminds me of printmaking, in that it allows you to expand upon a single idea. Here I cast plaster, seal it with a masonry sealant, and then I can paint it and use a variety of finishes, but the possibilities don’t stop there.

CREAM CITY CICADA

Something I’m really looking forward to doing more in the future, these brick carvings! Here is my first piece. It’s carved from a cream city brick (8.25x3.75x2.25” also dimensions of sculpture). The cicada is like a god of sound to me. Such a small creature able to generate the signature deafening calls that demand my attention and recognition. It is the master of vibration on those hot Milwaukee summer nights. These fascinating creatures come in different varieties around the world and are most closely related to the Mantis. Cicada populations generally share a reproduction cycle that can last more than a decade!

RAINBOW ROAD FOREVER

“Rainbow Road Forever” is a suspended-upside-down sculpture made of 1/4” steel rod and a variety of Hot Wheels, Matchbox, and John Deere vehicles. It measures 6x6x4 ft. and weighs about 30 lbs. I originally made plaster casts of six Hot Wheels cars. I decided the cars had to one day be replaced by real toy cars, each one a unique individual. After collecting the cars for about five years, a friend gave me the idea to arrange them in a rainbow.

Wood burnings, skull carvings, wood carvings, brick carvings, ceramics, wire wrappings…..