This is an ongoing body of work juxtaposing natural elements with cast objects in the form of tools inspired by human anatomy. The anatomical elements are comprised of forms derived from the hip joint and surrounding bones. This part of the human anatomy represents the largest concentration of evolutionary adaptions allowing humans to walk upright. This ability put humans metaphorically above all other species on the planet, and so serves as the beginning of human dominance and exploitation of the natural world.
40" x 30" x 10"
Cast iron, shell
2013
Bronze, wood, steel
12”x5.5”x3”
2018
Bronze, wood, steel
12”x5.5”x3”
2018
Bronze, wood, steel
11”x5”x3”
2018
Bronze, wood, steel
18”x7”x3”
2018
Iron, wood
13”x8”x8”
2018
Bronze, wood
19”x6”x2.5”
2018
Bronze, wood, steel
11”x9”x2.5”
2018
4" x 7" x 3"
Bronze, wood
2014
13" x 7" x 5"
Bronze, wood
2014
4" x 4" x 3"
Aluminum, oil-based soap
2014
18" x 30" x 12"
Cast iron, dirt
2014
Installation Detail
Dimensions variable
Cast iron, steel, monofilament, dirt
2014
12" x 48" x 6"
Bronze, wood
2014
54" x 24" x 14"
Bronze, wood
2015
11" x 8" x 6"
Bronze, wood
2016
Artist Statement
My artistic focus for the past two years has been split into two related, but separate bodies of work. One body of work pertains to humanities relationship with nature. It is a continuation of the work I began as a graduate student and it continues to develop. The second is a collaborative effort with my wife and fellow sculptor Christyn Overstake. In which we still focus on the natural world, but concentrate on the massive loss of biodiversity that our planet is currently experiencing.
My personal work was inspired by the irreverence of civilization with regard to the natural world. Since the Industrial Revolution society has been obsessed with consumption and therefore production. Civilization’s desire for easily accessible and immediately attainable goods and services separates humanity from the natural world, and pushes it out of concern. Ignorance, blindness, apathy, and greed violently eradicate life, and leave an ever-widening wake of destruction, waste, and death. The infinite-growth paradigm of capitalism requires a perpetual acceleration of production and consumption. This paradigm along with humanity’s blindness to it causes irrevocable damage to the planet that sustains us and threatens humanity itself. There is no way for humanity to pursue interminable progress and survive.
The collaborative efforts between my wife and I are based in the current despeciation occurring around the globe. The numbers of critically endangered species on our planet are growing at a staggering rate. Species that were never known to humanity are being eradicated by climate change, rising waters, and intentional habitat destruction. Some of the species we are losing preform unknown and possibly essential functions of the natural world. To paraphrase the biologist E. O. Wilson; we need all the species on the planet, we have never lived in a world without them and we understand very little about how they fit into the ecosystem as a whole.
To create this work Christyn and I are working with the Smithsonian and other academic and governmental entities, and the Biology department at The University of Notre Dame to collect and 3D scan skulls of critically endangered and extinct species. From these scans we can create replicas we can work with without the risk of damaging the original, often priceless, specimen. The objects born out of this work are collaborations between science, technology, and art. They will serve as memento mori, shrines, or monuments to the threats each species faces and the efforts being undertaken to save them.
It is my hope that the work I create will engage a new audience in the issues we face, and our responsibility to act with the understanding that we are a part of the biosphere. It is fallacious to think our intellect or technology make humans as a species immune to the effects of an ailing planet. We rely on the biodiversity of the planet for our survival. As an artist, I want to help people understand the problems we face and what they can do to mitigate our effects.
Iron, rosemary
9” x 6” x 2”
2023
Bronze, wood, steel
18”x7”x3”
2018
Iron, wood
14” x 4” x 2”
2022
Bronze, wood
12” x 3” x 2”
2019
Pallet Wood, Surinam Bocote
12”x4”x1”
2021
Iron, wood
6”x8”x5”
2022
Digital photograph
Digital photograph
Reclaimed wood, iron
8"x15"x15"
2024
Reclaimed wood
6” x 12” x 3”
2025
Reclaimed wood
120”x60”x36”
2023
Reclaimed wood
24" x 24" x 18”
2025
Reclaimed Wood
10” x 8” x 8”
2024
Reclaimed wood, bronze
36”x14”x12”
2023
Reclaimed wood
9”x7”x8”
2022
Reclaimed Wood
H 12 in. x W 4 in. x D 4 in.
2024
Reclaimed wood
6” x 15” x 12”
2024
3D Design
Students used laser-cut wood to create compositions exploring balance, color, texture, and relief inspired by Islamic mosaics. Students took a workshop on translating English text to Persian then engraving a word of their choice into elements incorporated into the mosaic
Laser-cut wood, paint
12”x12”x3”
3D Design
Students used laser-cut wood to create compositions exploring balance, color, texture, and relief inspired by Islamic mosaics. Students took a workshop on translating English text to Persian then engraving a word of their choice into elements incorporated into the mosaic
Laser-cut wood, paint
12”x12”x3”
3D Design
Students used laser-cut cardboard to create compositions exploring balance, color, texture, and relief inspired by Islamic mosaics.
Laser-cut carboard, paint,
24”x24”x3”
3D Foundations
Students designed clocks based on as aspect of their relationship to time.
Wood, mechanical clock movement
12"x15"x7"
3D Foundations
Students designed clocks based on as aspect of their relationship to time.
Wood, mechanical clock movement
15"x15"x3"
3D Foundations
Students chose an adjective then carved foam blocks into forms representing the adjective.
3"x6"x3"
3D Foundations
Students carved an unbroken line from a block of balsa wood focusing on dynamic line quality and movement.
Wood
4"x4"x3"
3D Foundations
Students created wearable mask representing some aspect of themselves or their interest.
Papier Mâché, cardboard, paint, string
15"x8"x12"
3D Design
Students created self portraits using planar fabrication techniques in cardboard. Students wore masks in homecoming parade, marching with the community art center.
Cardboard, paint
36”x36”x36”
2021
3D Design
Students used soldered wire to create a piece in response to a sound.
Soldered steel wire
8”x18”x10
3D Design
Students used soldered wire to create a piece in response to a sound.
Soldered steel wire, paint
24”x30”x20
3D Design
Students created flying objects or animals using soldered wire.
Soldered steel wire, paint
8”x5”x6”
3D Foundations
Using digital fabrication software and 3D printing students created a form that represented a word of their choice. Students then found or recorded a sound related to their word and used soldered wire to create a piece in response to that sound.
PLA, steel wire, acrylic
10"x6"x5"
3D Foundations
Students designed and built a passive amplifier for a smart phone in wood. They then created a sire sculpture that responded to a sound and interacted with their amplifier.
Wood, steel wire, paint
30” x 20” x 20”
3D Foundations
Students designed and built a passive amplifier for a smart phone in wood. They then created a sire sculpture that responded to a sound and interacted with their amplifier.
Wood, steel wire, paint
30” x 20” x 20”
3D Design
To explore scale, students digitally modeled, and 3D printed a visual representation of a chosen adjective.
PLA, paint
5”x6”x6”
3D Foundations
Students chose an emotion to create a custom emoji for. Models were 3D printed then sanded and painted.
PLA, paint
1.5” x 1.5” x 2”
3D Foundations
Students drew objects from a bag and used those objects to create a shallow box in the style of Joseph Cornell.
Wood, found objects, paint
10”x10”x2”
3D Foundations
Using cast multiples of a single object students created an installation addressing a contemporary social issue.
Bees Wax
5"x8"x60”
