In 2002...
I met Jesse Stockwell, another part time sculptor, who also was experiencing growing pains. Actually his pains were more due to the fact that his shop was all the way out in Yellow Springs and had no heat. It's hard to be creative when you can't feel your feet. We rented a 1,200 sq. ft. loft space in the Front St. building and set about filling it with the impliments of destruction. I taught Jesse how and where to dumpster dive for the best scrap metal and he taught me the importance of safety equipment. (a lesson I took to heart after breaking 2 toes) I convinced my former brother-in-law, Doug Benedict, to come down to the shop occassionally to keep me company and he was bit by the sculpting bug. He has become a fine sculptor in his own right over the past few years.

In 2002, as part of the Markey Road Neighborhood Assc. I offered to donate an outdoor sculpture for a neighborhood beautification project. It was my first attempt at a large outdoor sculpture and took me around 3 months to complete. I employ 1/4" steel pipes that just fit inside each other. I cut wavy sword shapes out of the steel and then applied heat so I could curl the petals back like a banana peel. The center of the flower is constructed of large RxR carriage bolt heads. The leaf was contrived from a 12' dia. piece of pipe. I cut outs a heart shape, scored the middle and bent it in half.

In early 2009 a friend asked me to create a coatrack for a specific place in his home and left the details up to me. He did inform me that the coatrack was a Valentine's gift for his wife and she had recently become quite vocal about his lack of enthusiasm for updating their home. "Save my bacon, dude, she's pissed." Mission accomplished, I think. I should be getting a call from him for another piece in a few years.