The common denominator to most of my work is that it’s inspired by and incorporates things I’ve found.  A key step to the process is the recognition and selection of “significant form” from the mostly insignificant flotsam and jetsam of our throwaway society.  Many found objects suggest some specific functionality, a kind of reverse-take on the dictum “form follows function”.  But sometimes just the shape, color and texture, and how the object interacts with other found materials, points me in a direction.  Frequently the idea spawned requires me to scratch-build other supporting components, often with materials and methods not traditionally associated with art-making. 

 

The resulting work may attempt to amuse or make a comment on some aspect of human existence. Or it may be simply “art for art’s sake”.  The chosen material sort of makes that decision for me.

 

In some of my most recent work, I’ve started incorporating rendered components.  Pleased with the resulting contrast and interplay of more traditionally created elements and the found material, I’ve begun developing  ideas from the opposite end, that is, by starting with an image of a recognizable subject and then searching for materials that can be repurposed to create a suitable setting for that image.

 

I believe that this approach may expand my audience by attracting and rewarding those not generally interested in abstract work or unable to see beyond the “trash” content.  Once drawn-in by the recognizable elements, perhaps they’ll take a moment to ponder the more abstract parts and come to appreciate that it’s not just trash after all.